Two months, no wins, one elimination from the Cup. Suffice to say that what once looked like the most promising season in the history of the Chicago Fire hasn’t gone according to plan as of late.
For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention this season, the Fire’s campaign up until now has been more or less a dichotomy in which the side opportunistically parlayed a string of relatively un-noteworthy performances into the best statistical start in the history of the club; then after two and a half actually great performances, commenced it’s current string of five games without a win. At the present time, the team that once looked like favorites to win both of this summer’s major competitions has fallen out of the race for the Supporter’s Shield and exited this year’s U.S. Open Cup.
And our last win came on May 10 when we thrashed the Red Bulls 5-1.
So what’s changed? What’s caused the team that dominated New York and D.C. to slide so badly over the course of two months?
Here are a few factors, in my opinion:
1. Luck.
I hate to say it, but I really think that a mere change in fortune has had a lot to do with the Fire’s current slide, just as I felt that the Fire weren’t as good as their record showed heading into the month of May.
Granted, the Fire were extremely deserving of their victories at D.C. United and New York at the start of that month, but in the games that preceded those wins, the Fire did little more than hit their chances and consistently grind out results from matches in which they didn’t really outplay their opponents. The Fire did do a workmanlike job in that part of the campaign, but as the saying goes, it’s better to be lucky than good, and I felt that they were luckier than they were good.
Since the Fire’s last win in May, they haven’t played consistently well, but they’ve also been, at times, the victims of poor fortune. Missed chances at inopportune times, poor refereeing decisions, and the consistent concession of late goals have plagued the Fire more over the last two months than has an inability to compete. Luck tends to even out over the course of a season, and so far it more or less has. So here’s hoping that we’re still saving some of our best luck for October and November.
2. Tactics.
I like Dennis Hamlett; I’m not blown away by the guy, but I think he’s done a solid job so far. The guys work hard, team chemistry seems pretty good, and let’s be honest, how many MLS coaches are really that impressive? The jury is obviously still out on Chicago’s first-time gaffer, but so far he’s done relatively well. With all that said, however, there are a lot of decisions that I’d be making differently. After all, I think we all feel as though we have one of the three or four best rosters in MLS, so to be lingering in the middle of the table this far into the season isn’t perfect.
A few things I’d do differently:
- Chris Rolfe has to play closer to goal. In general, the 4-5-1 with Chad Barrett or Calen Carr as a lone striker has allowed us to take the game to opponents at times, but even when that’s happened, we haven’t been able to consistently capitalize on our chances.
I don’t think that those guys are bad finishers, and I am actually very impressed with the way both of them have played this season. Barrett is a hard worker who contributes to the team in numerous ways. He makes great runs, he works hard, his composure on the ball has improved astronomically from last season, and he’s pretty good at getting in dangerous spots.
Carr, likewise, is a valuable infusion of energy whenever he’s in the squad and his pace and work rate seems to bother opponents.
Still, it makes absolutely no sense for the arguably best finishing forward in MLS to be playing nothing but midfield. Anyone who’s seen the catalog of goals that Rolfe has put together in a relatively small amount of starts at forward the past two seasons can easily recognize his immense quality. The guy is an out and out gamer and a fantastic forward, but as a midfielder he’s merely one cut above average.
I understand the philosophy of finding a strategy that lets you use your eleven best players, but at some point Hamlett needs to just let his best forward actually play forward and watch what happens.
After all, it’s goal-scorers who win games, and the fact that our only true goals-scorer isn’t playing a forward is absolutely killing us. It’s nothing against Chad Barrett, but in this year’s playoffs when were playing against Taylor Twellman or Luciano Emilio, it has to be Rolfe’s responsibility to take care of our business. It’s time for Hamlett to facilitate the best players on the team.
- A different midfield. Once again, I feel like Hamlett is trying too hard to run out his best eleven guys, and not hard enough to employ a strategy that will actually works. Of late we’ve been almost exclusively using a 4-5-1 with Justin Mapp on the left, Cuauhtemoc Blanco in attack, either Logan Pause or Diego Gutierrez in behind, and both Rolfe and John Thorrington more or less responsible for the right side.
The problem is that Rolfe is a striker and Thorrington is a center mid, and neither of them ever end up staying out wide. As a result we never have any width on that side of our midfield, a problem compounded by the fact that our right back, Brandon Prideaux, doesn’t venture forward often – or with much affect.
If I were in charge, I would probably play Calen Carr on the right side of midfield – a position that I feel suits him better than striker anyway. The guys has loads of pace, but neither touch or finishing are really his forte, so why he’s always been primarily a striker is beyond me.
He actually has done really well, though, in his few appearances on the right flank, normally giving opposing defenses fits with his pace and energy. Furthermore, I feel like his better suited for playing facing goal, like normally is when employed on the right, than for playing with his back to it like he normally has to when used as a striker.
Perhaps the Fire’s most impressive half this season, for me, was the first half of our 2-1 loss to Houston Dyamo – a game that we dominated for long stretches but lost due to a crazy deflection and a last minute goal. In that contest, Carr started the match on the right wing, and with Mapp and Gonzalo Segares dominating from our left side as always, we used the entire width of the field to great affect for one of the only times all season.
I think that if we were to try a 4-4-2 with Rolfe and either Barrett, Andy Herron, or Tomas Frankowski up top, Carr on the right, Mapp on the left, and Blanco partnered with someone more defensive for cover, we’d find ourselves winning a lot more games. Depending on the opponent, I’d probably use Logan Pause behind Blanco against teams – such as San Jose - who try to impose a cramped style on the game, and against more attacking teams like D.C. United, employ a more physical defender like Diego Gutierrez, Lider Marmol, or Wilman Conde. Pause, in my opinion, is an excellent facilitator of our more creative players and a composed player on the ball, but in a midfield that includes no other above average defenders (and Blanco), I do think it’s necessary at times to use someone more adept at winning the ball back from our opponents.
Anyway, I have so much more to say, but it’s less than a half hour until kickoff of tonight’s match against Toronto which I have to go to the bar to watch, so I guess I’m gonna half to wrap this blog session up. The good news is that I do like our chances of finally turning things around in tonight’s match, and I think that once we get this one win to put ourselves back on track, things are going to be fine. Plus, there’s still the possibility we’ll be signing Brian McBride, an acquisition that I feel would probably make us favorites to win the MLS Cup – depending on what we have to give up to get him.
Anyway, Fire Til I Die, and in the shorter term, I’m also Fire until the next blog entry. I’m thinking Rolfe, Mapp, and Blanco for a 3-0 win tonight.
*Note: The internet sucks in Mexico and I couldn't get this piece actually posted before Saturday's game. Still a good read though, hopefully, for anyone interested.
Anyway fantastic win Saturday, and I hopefully will have another post up shortly.
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