Match Day #6 Preview

Well I'm going to keep this nice and short. The Fire face a tough test playing at home against Seattle this week. They do not have any fresh injury concerns besides Rolfe still day to day and possibly Pappa since he played for his national side during the week. To come to a nice quick assessment of this game would be the Fire have to get a result out of this game. I know it is only game #6 but they have to start showing that they are among one of the better teams in the league. The Fire have to establish some kind of consistent rhythm otherwise it is going to be a long summer. I see this game finishing 1-1 unfortunately.

The Fire also announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Alex(for short) this week. He was on trial this preseason and apparently impressed Frank and his staff to earn himself a contract. But he won't be available until the end of June, which is about the time the Fire have recently started to push to get back in the playoff race.

That's all I have this game preview. It will also be my first home game of the season after knocking down my medication count from 3 to 2.

Match Day #5 Review

Match Day #5 Rewind

                The Fire went north of the border in search of 3 points in Toronto and found them. The only problem is that it wasn’t as easy as people thought it was going to be. Toronto went into the game looking for their 1st points of the season and that’s why many people, including myself, thought that it wouldn’t be as tough as it actually was. The game couldn’t have started any better for the Fire shortly after the Kevin Stott started the first half. Kocic collected the ball in his own area and non chalantly rolled the ball out to Frings who was immediately was put under pressure by Nyarko who deflected an attempted pass right to Oduro. Oduro then took the ball into Toronto’s area and coolly slotted it home into the back of the net to record the fastest goal in Fire history at 25 seconds. The Fire kept up the pressure right after the goal and controlled the game and even had golden opportunity to double the lead in the 11^th minute when Oduro had another breakaway off of a Toronto turn over, but this time Kocic made the save.

The Fire continued with the pressure until Toronto tied the game up in the 36^th minute when the Bermudan, Reggie Lambe, scored off a rebound of a corner kick. He collected the ball outside the 18 on the left side after Johnson had punched clear. Pause was a little late in closing down the space and Lambe blasted the ball home with what will surely be the GOTW(Goal of the Week). This brought the crowd and Toronto back to life and they took control and put the Fire on the back foot. Less than 2 minutes later Lambe found the back of net again off of a cross through the box that should have been cleared by a Fire defender but was not.

The Fire did have the proper response after Toronto took the lead. Grazzini took a free kick on the far right side about 40 yards out and floated it into the box where Segares with a deft little touch put it home past Kocic. It was in my mind the perfect set piece that can be taken. The ball was floated into space where it froze Kocic and Segares snuck behind the defense in order to get the touch. This effectively took Toronto and the crowd back out of the game.

The 2^nd half started and the Fire kept control of the game and limited Toronto’s opportunities. In the 58^th minute the Fire struck on a counterattack. After Pause had collected the ball in the defensive end he found Oduro near midfield, who in turn found a streaking Nyarko. Nyarko collected the through ball and rounded Kocic near the top of the box and put it in the goal. After the Fire scored, Klopas decided to sub Pappa and Grazzini in the 65^th and 79^th minutes respectively. This effectively ended all possession in the middle of the park for the Fire and put them on the defensive for the rest of the game. There were a couple chances that Toronto had during the rest of the game but the Men in Red hung on for the 3 points. I’ll go into the latter part of the second half in a little analysis after the player ratings.

Player Ratings

Johnson-(5) Had a good game despite giving up 2 goals and one of those was unstoppable.

Gargan-(5) Very active on the right side especially up in the attack.

Anibaba-(5) Played well, made a few key stops in the final 20 minutes.

Friedrich-(4) Caught out of position on Toronto’s 2^nd goal, looked a little hesitant throughout the 1^st half. I know Klopas says he is only about 75% but he needs to step up in a big way in order to have a shut down defense.

Segares-(5) Didn’t really make an impact in the game defensively but he did put a deft touch on the free kick by Grazzini to score the 2^nd Fire goal. Allowed Lambe to roam freely into the box on multiple occasions.

Pardo-(5) Disrupted multiple attacks and did his job well.

Pause-(5) Played well and worked well in combination with Pardo and Grazzini. Didn’t close down Lambe fast enough on Toronto’s 1^st goal.

Pappa-(5) Made a few good runs on the left side, still lazy when it comes to defense, and on a few other occasions he didn’t not give a lot of effort in making runs to support to the attack. Subbed out in the 65^th minute.

Grazzini-(6) controlled the middle well and created multiple attacks. Assisted on the goal by Segares by floating a beautiful free kick into the Toronto area. Subbed out in the 79^th minute.

Nyarko-(7) A beast of a game. Scored the game winning goal and was the best player on the pitch for the Fire.

Oduro-(6) Scored the opener by being in the right place at the right time. Slotted a great through ball to Nyarko for the game winner. Subbed out in the 84^th.

Puppo, Barouch, Paladini-(4) Came on as the Fire’s subs and really didn’t make any major impact. Work rate from all 3 was really good though.

                Well my final thoughts on the game, the Fire need to tighten up defensively. The second Toronto goal should not have happened, it was just a sloppy play by the defense to allow the ball to go through the box like it did. Maybe Johnson could have come out to snag the ball but we will  never know. One thing that bothered me during the last part of the 2^nd half was that the Fire were just sitting back and defending the lead. I don’t care what team you are, you cannot just sit back and defend like they did. This will eventually lead to points lost in the future. I also noticed that in the midfield that when a ball was played to a streaking player that those attacking players did not rush into the box. I specifically remember one play where Pappa released Segares down the line and there was only one player running into the box while 3 other midfielders were jogging to join the attack. Why does this happen? Hopefully these things can be assessed before next week’s game when the Fire returns home to take on Seattle.

Rolfe Out Saturday

Announced this morning that Rolfe suffered an ankle sprain that will keep him out for Saturday and possibly the game at home against the Flounders.

Match Day #4 Rewind and Match Day #5 Preview

Match Day #4 Rewind, Match Day #5 Preview, and Some Random Thoughts

Match Day #4 Rewind

                Well, on a night that the Fire needed to get 3 points to show that they can run with the better teams in the Eastern Conference; mother nature had other plans. Houston were missing 3 starters for the game and the Fire were looking to take advantage of that. The game started out evenly matched until the 13^th minute when lightning forced the referee to call the players off the field for about an hour until it was deemed safe to resume. After the game had resumed, the match was going back and forth and was pretty evenly matched. That was until, the way I see it, a miscommunication in the back which allowed Will Bruin to streak in past the defense and slot the ball into the net past Sean Johnson. After the goal the Fire started playing with more urgency and in the 27^th minute Nyarko earned a free kick outside of Houston’s box, which Pardo took and it took a lucky deflection off of Pause’s back and into the net. If the ball had not hit Pause in the back I have a hard time believing that Pardo’s free kick would have gone in. Since the goal, the Fire seemed to take control of the game and had solid possession with very few giveaways but also very few chances. The second halftime came and went and then in the 66^th minute the weather forced the game to be called and each team taking a point. Now for the player ratings:

Johnson-(5) Really wasn’t tested and was beaten on Houston’s only shot on goal.

Segares-(5) Did his job no mistakes and didn’t stand out much either.

Anibaba and Friedrich- (5) Held well except for the miscommunication that led to the goal.

Gargan- (5) Good to have back in the lineup, was very active joining the attack, much more effective than Pause being right back.

Pardo- (6) Took control of the middle and took the free kick that led to the only goal for the Fire.

Pause- (6) Scored the goal, albeit the easiest goal he’ll ever score. Worked well with Pardo handling the Houston attack.

Grazzini- (6) Created a few chances, took control of the attack at times and looked good considering he had space at times to work. I liked how he combines well with Nyarko.

Pappa- (5) Really didn’t have much of an affect on the game, he still has the tendency to float into Grazzini’s space. This has got to stop and he should play the wing.

Nyarko- (6) Created the chance that led to the goal and was very active at attacking Houston’s right side.

Oduro- (5) Made a few runs but overall ineffective. I think that teams around the league are starting to realize how to defend Oduro and make his speed ineffective.

                Overall the Fire played well but still was not deadly on the attack. It seems that the Fire are becoming too one dimensional in the attack. By that I mean that they have been stuck trying to attack through the same avenues. Whether it is long balls over the top to Oduro, Pappa taking on 2 or 3 defenders with step overs, everything going through Grazzini, or Nyarko taking defenders on out wide. That seems to be the only ways that the Fire know how to attack and if they don’t find a solution to their attacking strategy it will be a long season.

Match Day #5 Preview

                With the weather shortened game out of the way, Chicago goes into the weekend travelling to Toronto to face the only team in the league without a win and without a point. They have started this season just like every other season, pretty bad and a mess. Their coach, Aron Winter, cannot settle on a line up after looking promising in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals against the LA Galaxy. Since then they have looked like a last place team. Which in my mind, they do have some talent on the team but they really seem to be unable to play well together. Toronto doesn’t have major injuries to worry about(except for Frings who is probable which means he will more than likely play) so they should be playing their strongest line up against the Fire. On the other hand the Fire come in to the game with no fresh injury concerns and even the addition of Chris Rolfe to roster, which I will talk about in my random thoughts section. Here is how I think the Fire should lineup against Toronto:

Johnson

Gargan-Friedrich-Anibaba-Segares

Pause-Pardo

Pappa-Grazzini-Nyarko

Oduro

                It seems as though Klopas will be set on starting Johnson again after his first start back in net on Sunday. I move Nyarko back to midfield because of the fact that every single game this season he starts up top with Oduro and then eventually falls back to take a spot in midfield. I can see Rolfe, Paladini, and Robayo all coming in at some point as subs. If Sunday’s game was a must win game, this game against Toronto is one the Fire cannot lose. If the Fire fail to win this game it could be a precursor of what to expect all season and even put Klopas on the hot seat in my opinion. I don’t think that will happen though as Chicago will come out winners 3-0, with goals coming from Nyarko, Grazzini, and my long shot goal scorer of Friedrich.

Random Thoughts

·         The Fire reserves won against the Dynamo reserves on Monday by a score line of 1-0 with the only goal coming from Puppo.

·         The biggest news of the week though is the return of Chris Rolfe to the Fire. The Fire were able to resign the forward/midfielder before the transfer window shut. He comes back after spending the past 2 years playing for Aalborg in Denmark. This is welcome addition and could not go wrong bringing back a fan favorite. The only problem is where does he fit in when he becomes start ready? I would like to see him take Pappa’s spot in the starting lineup and play more of a right winger but more up top. I have a strange feeling that this will not happen and Klopas will elect to keep Pappa in the starting 11 and possibly remove Nyarko for Rolfe to play up top with Oduro. I hope the Fire are still looking for that proven target forward though.

Match Day #4 Preview

Match Day #4 Preview and Random Thoughts

                This Sunday the Fire take on the Houston Dynamo who lost to the LA Galaxy in the 2011 MLS Cup. Both teams are coming off a bye week and Houston had a bye the week before that too. The Dynamo’s last game they traveled to Seattle and lost 2-0 and it was a very physical game that led to some rough challenges and later fines and suspensions handed down by the league that will affect the Houston line up(Moffat and Clark). One player that has a possibility of missing out for Houston is their midfield assist machine of Brad Davis who is struggling with an injury. So the Dynamo coach, Dominic Kinnear, will have to field some reserves to help fill the voids created by injury and suspensions.

                Enough about the creamsicles, let’s talk about our “Men in Red” because they also have a few problems themselves. The Fire are coming off one of the worst performances I have witnessed in the past couple years. They travelled to Colorado looking for all 3 points and came away with none and looking like a disorganized mess in the process. I……………….I think I just woke from thinking about the first half again.  The 2^nd half of that game was worse as the Fire bunched up in the middle creating no space for a proper attack to develop and the defense gave way too much space to the Rapid’s attackers which eventually led to their two goals. The Fire, despite the line up woes for Houston, will face their first real test in the Eastern Conference to see if they will be able to hang with one of the “better” teams in the east. So this is how I would line the Fire up and I’ll explain my choices after the break:

Tornaghi

Gargan-Anibaba-Friedrich-Segares

Pardo

Pause-Grazzini-Nyarko

Puppo-Oduro

                I still start Tornaghi because he still looks good despite giving up 2 goals last game that should be pinned to the lackadaisical defense. In the back I would put Gargan back in his normal spot because Pause was not nearly as effective going forward as Gargan is. I also put Friedrich in there due to the news that came out on Tuesday that Gibbs suffered a meniscus tear and had to have surgery that will keep him out for 4 to 6 months. In the mid field I would keep the regulars in there except I would bench Pappa. The reason for this is that he really needs to learn how to play his position and stop taking away space and start creating space for Grazzini. I would also move Nyarko back to the wing because although he would start up top with Oduro he would always float back and play the left side of the mid field. He also has a better defensive sense than Pappa has. Up front I would keep Oduro up there but I would start Puppo just to see what he could do. He has shown in the time that he has been given and that he is able to create a few chances. This game should show what Klopas can do strategically and see what kind of adjustments he can make to help kick start the Fire’s attack. The Fire can win this game if they play smart, keep their formation and not bunch up in the middle, take chances when they come, and keep organized in the back which having Friedrich will help with immensely.  Unfortunately taking the last game into account and the fact that Klopas normally doesn’t bench his regulars, I can’t see the Fire getting a win and all 3 points unless they play a perfect game. I think it will be a 2-1 Fire win with Grazzini and Nyarko getting the goals for the Fire and they play a very dominating performance.  I cannot stress enough how vital it is that the Fire take all 3 points in this match. If they do not secure all 3 points than this team is going to be in trouble the rest of the season and we fans risk a repeat of the last 2 years.

Random Thoughts

·         As mentioned before Gibbs is going to be out for 4-6 months after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus that he picked up in training last week.

·         Patrick Nyarko signed an extension with the team that will keep him around Chicago for the foreseeable future. This is a good thing because he is one of the players that can create chances for the rest of the team. Plus his speed and ability to take on defenders one on one is very hard to find in the league now a days.

·         One thing that has bothered me over the last couple months is the fact that the Commish has his heart set on NYC being the 20^th team. Every time I read an article about how the league is investigating sites for a stadium to be built it makes me think of other professional sports teams that are owned by the various leagues. I also like it how Garber holds double standards for teams. Especially when it comes to stadium issues. He moved the first version of the Earthquakes to Houston because they struggled to find investors for their own stadium. He also states that expansion teams that come into the league must have a soccer specific stadium or a plan for one in place(unless you are Seattle and you like to buy yourself an exemption from that rule). Why is DC and New England still not in their own stadiums? I do realize that DC is trying hard as hell to get a stadium in place, but what about New England? Why split a fan base that is already struggling to get out to Harrison NJ? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Match Day #3 Rewind

Match Day #3 Rewind……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

            So the Fire went in to Colorado, full of confidence off of their first win of the season 8 days before, looking to take all 3 points from the Rapids who the week before were destroyed by the resurgent Redbulls. Well things did not go as planned for the Fire and let’s just say I’m going to keep this rewind very short. The first half was dull from both sides and I think I might have taken a quick nap in there someplace. Both sides looked sloppy, not being able to connect multiple passes, and not creating any memorable chances on net. And now that I have awoken from rethinking about the first half, let’s move on to the horrible second half. Both sides came out looking like the first half but the Rapids started to maintain possession and create chances and they finally found the breakthrough with a goal from Omar Cummings in the 58^th minute. Mullan received a long ball on the right side and slotted into the middle and Cummings collected and found the back of the net. The Fire defense was caught napping and ball watching as the ball came to Cummings. In response to the Rapids goal the Fire had nothing, which I will explain later. The Rapids finished off the game in added time when Kamani Hill received the ball about 35 yards out, dribbled towards the box and took a long shot that Tornaghi pushed back into the path of the on rushing Hill who collected the rebound and slotted it home past Tornaghi. That’s how the game ended, 2-0 in favor of the Rapids.

Player Ratings

            This week I’m going to do an overall team rating. Drum roll please………….I give the team a flat F-.

My overall impressions

            Time for a little rant of what I was thinking watching the game. First of all, what were Rabayo and Pappa doing? Robayo’s first start reminded me a lot of Julio Martinez when he was with the Fire. Rabayo was all over the middle and did not look comfortable at all. Pappa on the other hand looked too comfortable and tried taking on 3 defenders by himself, taking shots from 30 to 35 yards out, or playing out position specifically crowding up the middle. Second Grazzini and Nyarko were effectively shut down. They both had touches of the ball but were shut down by the Rapids defense. Third, Oduro had nothing because of the game plan that Rapids had employed. The Rapid’s defense was playing a step behind Oduro all game and the Rapids had Wynn man marking him all game. Also with the midfield being shut down, it forced the Fire to start playing long balls up to Oduro which had no affect due to the way the Rapids were playing defense. Last and most important, the defense was caught ball watching on both goals. On both goals the defense was just standing there watching the ball go to Rapids players and when they reacted the ball was already in the back of the net.

            This game showed how the rest of the league should play the Fire in order to shut them down. It also showed that Frank has a tough time adapting when plan “A” does not work, the entire game the possession was 61% to 39%. What was that? Even the Fire’s strongest midfield out there they could not adapt. It seemed as though they just had nothing to answer to the game plan that the Rapids employed and to me that is very disturbing. Now I’m also still hearing that the Fire show promise to get better, but I don’t like when people say this. I don’t like it for the simple fact that championships aren’t won with promise. Last time I checked this is a result orientated business. The Fire are not going to sell out the stadium with promise, they are not going to win an MLS cup with promise, and they are not going to get into the playoffs with promise. Frank has got work something out so this team can adapt when plan “A” does not work. We will have to see what happens over the next 10 days and see if they come up with when they face Houston at Toyota Park. But this past Sunday’s game was one of those that the team and fans need to forget and hope there is no further repeats of it in the coming games, because if there are repeats of it then we are going to be in for a long season and Frank may not last the season as coach but it’s still too early to call that last statement.