First off I have to apologize to my readers(if I actually have more than 2) about my lack of posts lately. Lets just say work and other things at home have occupied most of my time lately.
Well onto the week and a half that was. It started out with a trip to visit the Portland Timbers on May 20th which ended in a listless loss to a team that at the time was sitting near the bottom of the West and had trouble finding the back of the net. Well the Fire gave up 2 goals from corners and were very ineffective offensively and defensively. Follow that up with a very ugly and lucky win at home versus FC Dallas where the Fire had 2 goals, one a brilliant strike by Grazzini and the other a lucky rebound off a PK by Pappa that by following the rules of the game should not have counted. The only good thing that came out of the game against Dallas was the fact that Chicago got back the Brimstone Cup which has eluded the Fire for quite some time. They finished off the first week by travelling to Columbus and resting a couple starters they put on a display of utter crap in front of 600+ fans that travelled to see them play. Well I thought that crap couldn't get any worse, well it started to steam and collect tons of flies. The Fire finished off 4 games in 10 days by a display that was one of the worst I have ever seen since the beginning. Lets just say that the Fire went into their 3rd round US Open Cup match up against PDL side Michigan Bucks fielding a reserve side with 2 starters in the team. Well instead of going into the details we lost in a tournament that the club is supposed to hold dear to its heart. It was a performance that I and many other fans are calling pathetic and a disgrace. Most of the players that took the field against a 4th division side played with no heart, they played like it was a friendly. Granted the game took place indoors on turf, but that is no excuse where only 2 maybe 3 players played with heart and with a purpose of I don't know earning their pay check. Well they lost and there is nothing they can do about it. But I ain't done yet.......
So after witnessing absolute garbage in 4 games(I'm not including the garbage games before that), I have come to the conclusion that there is only one person to blame for this. Now remember this is only my opinion so yes I can be wrong but I can also be right. The person I blame for this, as much as I think Andrew is a bad owner for this team, but I actually blame Frank. Frank was the one responsible for the line ups he put on the field for both Saturday and Tuesday night. He is the one responsible for for getting the team prepared for both games. (Why do I talk about the Saturday and Tuesday games specifically is because they were just absolutely horrible.) It's his responsibility to make tactical changes throughout the game also. As a coach he has to adapt to the way each game is going and Frank could not do that. Apparently he underestimated a 4th division PDL team when he fielded a reserve team with 2 regular starters. Why did he not field his strongest side possible? Did he think that Tuesday was going to be a cake walk? Did he think that Saturday was going to be easy so he could give some regular starters some rest? Is he actually a good judge of talent? This roster is his now. What I mean is that all the players on this roster he had the final say, except for Logan Pause, that if the team signs them or not. The players on the field Tuesday were all brought in under his watch and they couldn't even beat a 4th division side. I don't want to go into any specific players because I don't want to over analyze any specific player. Frank on the other hand has the responsibility of putting together, coaching, and preparing a team that is good enough to win every single trophy that can be won. He also has a responsibility to put a team together that will make Chicago proud and take pride in wearing the Fire crest close to their heart. I feel as though this team does not have the ability to win the MLS Cup because as of right now that's the only other cup this team can win. Who knows though, I could be wrong; this Alex kid coming over later this summer might be sensational, maybe Frank has an impact player or 2 in mind for a summer transfer later this summer. Who knows for sure except for the man who I think is to blame for the current rough spell, Frank Klopas.
Well that's my $.02, the Fire face a tough test this coming Saturday as they travel to take on the Revolution. Will we see a different Fire from Saturday and Tuesday? I sure to hope so because if we don't we it will be a long hot summer of mediocre soccer here in the city of Chicago.
Well onto the week and a half that was. It started out with a trip to visit the Portland Timbers on May 20th which ended in a listless loss to a team that at the time was sitting near the bottom of the West and had trouble finding the back of the net. Well the Fire gave up 2 goals from corners and were very ineffective offensively and defensively. Follow that up with a very ugly and lucky win at home versus FC Dallas where the Fire had 2 goals, one a brilliant strike by Grazzini and the other a lucky rebound off a PK by Pappa that by following the rules of the game should not have counted. The only good thing that came out of the game against Dallas was the fact that Chicago got back the Brimstone Cup which has eluded the Fire for quite some time. They finished off the first week by travelling to Columbus and resting a couple starters they put on a display of utter crap in front of 600+ fans that travelled to see them play. Well I thought that crap couldn't get any worse, well it started to steam and collect tons of flies. The Fire finished off 4 games in 10 days by a display that was one of the worst I have ever seen since the beginning. Lets just say that the Fire went into their 3rd round US Open Cup match up against PDL side Michigan Bucks fielding a reserve side with 2 starters in the team. Well instead of going into the details we lost in a tournament that the club is supposed to hold dear to its heart. It was a performance that I and many other fans are calling pathetic and a disgrace. Most of the players that took the field against a 4th division side played with no heart, they played like it was a friendly. Granted the game took place indoors on turf, but that is no excuse where only 2 maybe 3 players played with heart and with a purpose of I don't know earning their pay check. Well they lost and there is nothing they can do about it. But I ain't done yet.......
So after witnessing absolute garbage in 4 games(I'm not including the garbage games before that), I have come to the conclusion that there is only one person to blame for this. Now remember this is only my opinion so yes I can be wrong but I can also be right. The person I blame for this, as much as I think Andrew is a bad owner for this team, but I actually blame Frank. Frank was the one responsible for the line ups he put on the field for both Saturday and Tuesday night. He is the one responsible for for getting the team prepared for both games. (Why do I talk about the Saturday and Tuesday games specifically is because they were just absolutely horrible.) It's his responsibility to make tactical changes throughout the game also. As a coach he has to adapt to the way each game is going and Frank could not do that. Apparently he underestimated a 4th division PDL team when he fielded a reserve team with 2 regular starters. Why did he not field his strongest side possible? Did he think that Tuesday was going to be a cake walk? Did he think that Saturday was going to be easy so he could give some regular starters some rest? Is he actually a good judge of talent? This roster is his now. What I mean is that all the players on this roster he had the final say, except for Logan Pause, that if the team signs them or not. The players on the field Tuesday were all brought in under his watch and they couldn't even beat a 4th division side. I don't want to go into any specific players because I don't want to over analyze any specific player. Frank on the other hand has the responsibility of putting together, coaching, and preparing a team that is good enough to win every single trophy that can be won. He also has a responsibility to put a team together that will make Chicago proud and take pride in wearing the Fire crest close to their heart. I feel as though this team does not have the ability to win the MLS Cup because as of right now that's the only other cup this team can win. Who knows though, I could be wrong; this Alex kid coming over later this summer might be sensational, maybe Frank has an impact player or 2 in mind for a summer transfer later this summer. Who knows for sure except for the man who I think is to blame for the current rough spell, Frank Klopas.
Well that's my $.02, the Fire face a tough test this coming Saturday as they travel to take on the Revolution. Will we see a different Fire from Saturday and Tuesday? I sure to hope so because if we don't we it will be a long hot summer of mediocre soccer here in the city of Chicago.
I agree with your criticism of the coaching. And I would include all of the coaches in the responsibility department. Do I detect a bit of Hamlet in the decision making, or lack thereof? The successful teams in the MLS so far this year seem to be quite aggressive. Lots of wins, not settling for draws. It's in the game plan. Design a good one and execute it.
ReplyDeleteGood point. The problem that I see is that Klopas has a game plan and sticks with it no matter what. he rarely changes his line up(unless there are injuries) and does not stray from the 4-5-1 formation that we have seen in the past few weeks has become ineffective. I hope to see change this summer by releasing players that aren't performing the way they should and I EXPECT 1 or 2 high impact players to be brought in. and I really don't think ALex is going to be one of them, I coul be worng though.
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