Thorrington could be answer at right mid, Marmol signs with Fire

John Thorrington’s performance Saturday night was perhaps the biggest positive Chicago could take away from the 2-1 victory. The Fire haven’t had a true right midfielder in the side’s best XI in years, and if Thorrington could become that player it would be a huge boost to the squad.

Both of his goals were obviously critical, and the manner with which he took his chances was truly impressive. His opener came on a really quality strike of an awkward ball, and while I question how consistently he’ll be able to put chances like that one away, he certainly showed great ability in guiding his shot past Bouna Coundoul.

His second goal is less likely to show up as a Goal of the Week candidate, but it did impress me as much as the first one because of the composure and intelligence Thorrington showed in converting. Thorrington did well to find the only opening in the defense through which Justin Mapp could deliver a cross, and having received Mapp’s pass, Thorrington showed great patience and confidence in controlling the ball then picking out a corner to steer his shot into.

While Thorrington’s goals were both impressive, I was also pleased to discover that to many observers of Saturday night’s match, Thorrington had already been Chicago’s best performer up until his first goal. I haven’t been able to witness either of Thorrington’s starts live, but it sounds as though he’s done quite well when given the chance. Even head coach Denis Hamlett acknowledged in the aftermath of Saturday’s win that Thorrington is making a strong case to continue starting on the right wing.

If he is able to win a permanent starting spot in at right mid, that development could provide Denis Hamlett the luxury of starting Chris Rolfe in his natural position – forward. Rolfe, of course, has been the Fire’s best forward over the last few seasons and is an occasional member of the United States national team. He has only appeared on the right side of midfield so far this season, however, because of the Fire’s abundance of forwards and apparent lack of first team-caliber right-sided midfielders.

With Thorrington poised to player a bigger role in that position, Fire fans may finally get to see Rolfe trying to finish off the side’s chances in front of goal.

Marmol finally joins Fire

The Lider Marmol saga finally came to an end this week, with the Fire signing the Paraguayan defender/midfielder. Marmol won’t be available to suit up for Chicago until he secures a visa, which could take a couple of weeks, but his eventual inclusion in the squad will leave the Fire with a wealth of defensive options.

At one time I viewed the Fire’s depth – at least on defense – as a weakness; however the opposite is turning out to be the case. The signing of Marmol and the emergence of Brandon Prideaux as a quality option at right back leaves Chicago with no less than eight quality defenders who can play along the backline (including C.J. Brown who should return from injury this month). A number of those players also possess the ability to play in a defensive midfield role (although true midfielder Logan Pause has started in that spot every game this season), which means that Hamlett will have a fair amount of flexibility when constructing his lineups as the season goes on.

Five Chicago forwards have seen time for the Fire so far this season and first round draft pick Patrick Nyarko is still waiting in the wings, so it’s safe to say that the Fire also enjoy a fair amount of depth at the forward position.

The Fire’s depth should be a real asset to the team as the season progresses and every team in MLS deals with injuries and fatigue. It will be interesting to see whether or not Hamlett frequently adjusts his starting lineup over the course of the season, because having so many quality options in the back should allow Chicago to field a fresher, more energetic team late in the season than many of its opponents. Former head coach Dave Sarachan seemed to employ a rotation strategy when constructing his lineups in 2006, and the tactic paid off as the Fire finished the regular season one of MLS’ hottest teams before falling on penalties to New England in the conference semifinals.

The Fire’s depth could prove to be even more valuable, however, in this summer’s US Open Cup. It’s typical, of course, for MLS sides to approach the majority of their cup matches with a lineup featuring mainly players not slated to start in their side’s league matches that week. With the MLS schedule as busy as it is, a manager rarely has the luxury of starting a first choice side in both a US Open Cup match and the league matches surrounding it.

Chicago, with the amount of depth it possesses, stands to place well in this summer’s Open Cup in my opinion. In a given week, our second team should include players like Chad Barrett, Andy Herron, Dasan Robinson, and Diego Gutierrez. I would definitely fancy a lineup including those players to almost any second team in the league.