Well That Was Fun

So the Fire's season came to an unexpected finish on Wednesday night as they played like they have been for the majority of October, not good enough. The month of October was painful to watch as we saw Chicago climb within a win of being first in the East and end up finishing 4th and having to play Houston in the play in game. Instead of dwelling on what could have been, especially after receiving the rest of the playoff tickets in the mail earlier this week, I will discuss my thoughts on where the Fire are and where I think they should go.

Let's take a look at the roster when I examined it back in the summer:

Position	Player	Age	Contract Expiration	Status
GK	Johnson	23	Dec. 2012	Domestic
GK	Tornaghi	24	At least thru 2013	International
GK	Nolly	30	?	Domestic
DF	Gargan	29	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Gibbs	32	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Segares	29	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Kinney	24	?	Domestic
DF	Anibaba	23	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Berry	23	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Jumper	23	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Friedrich	33	Dec. 2012	International
DF	Walls	22	At least thru 2014	Domestic
MF	Nyarko	26	At least thru 2014	Domestic
MF	Paladini	27	At least thru 2013	Domestic
MF	Pappa	24	Dec. 2012	International
MF	Pause	30	At least thru 2013	Domestic
MF	Bone	23	?	Domestic
MF	Grazzini	31	Dec. 2012	International
MF	Pardo	35	Dec. 2013	International
MF	Alex	23	?	International
MF	Videira	26	?	Domestic
MF	Robayo	28	Gone any day now	International
MF	Pineda	19	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Barouch	20	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Gulley	18	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Puppo	25	?	International
F	Rolfe	29	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Oduro	26	At least thru 2013	Domestic

That roster had 28 of the 30 spots filled and 8 of the 9 international slots filled.
Now let's take a look at the roster as of the last game:

Position	Player	Age	Contract Expiration	Status
GK	Johnson	23	Dec. 2012	Domestic
GK	Tornaghi	24	At least thru 2013	International
GK	Nolly	30	?	Domestic
DF	Gargan	29	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Gibbs	32	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Segares	30	At least thru 2013	Domestic
DF	Kinney	25	?	Domestic
DF	Anibaba	24	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Berry	24	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Jumper	23	At least thru 2014	Domestic
DF	Friedrich	33	Dec. 2012	International
DF	Walls	22	At least thru 2014	Domestic
MF	Nyarko	26	At least thru 2014	Domestic
MF	Paladini	27	At least thru 2013	Domestic
MF	Fernandez	27	Thru 2013	Domestic/ DP
MF	Pause	31	At least thru 2013	Domestic
MF	Bone	24	?	Domestic
MF	Thompson	28	?	Domestic
MF	Pardo	36	Dec. 2013	International
MF	Alex	23	?	International
MF	Videira	26	?	Domestic
MF
MF	Pineda	19	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Franco	36	Dec. 2012	International
F	Gulley	18	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Macdonald	27	At least thru 2013	International/DP
F	Rolfe	29	At least thru 2014	Domestic
F	Oduro	27	At least thru 2013	Domestic

Over the summer Frank brought Macdonald, Franco, Thompson, and Fernandez to replace the spots left open by Robayo, Puppo, Grazzini, Barouch, and Pappa. Robayo, Puppo, Grazzini, and Barouch were sent on loan but I have a feeling that we will not see them in a Fire shirt again. So with the roster the way it is rioght now the Fire have 27 of the 30 spots filled and if we take it that Franco and Alex(which I will discuss hiom later) will not be coming back and Friedrich(which I will discuss later also) will be coming back that leaves Frank with 4 internationals on his roster. Which that is a very good thing.

I will take a look at the roster by position:

• GK: We should have no problems. The Fire have an option on Johnson which I kind of figure they will more than likely pick that option up. Tornaghi should be another capable back up for Johnson which leaves Nolly as the odd man out. If they decide to trade Nolly or even release him I can be okay with that.
• DF: The combination of Berry and Friedrich worked so well that if the Fire are able to bring back Friedrich that the Defense should be good for next season. I know that earlier this summer Friedrich was questioning moves made by the FO but he changed his opinion and may end up staying for another year here because he likes the city and the fans as pointed out in his latest comments after the loss versus Houston. On the outside we should be good with all of our outside backs being back for 2013. But what kind of moves would Frank make though. If Friedrich comes back does he let go Gibbs since they are basically the same age and would have basically the same length of contract status? I could see this one happening and keeping Friedrich around to be a mentor to the young center backs that the Fire have. With having both Segares and Gargan the starting outside backs, hypothetically, would Frank see if he could trade Anibaba? I don't know about this one but I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there that wouldn't mind it. What about Kinney? That right there is one of those tough choices to make but I can see him being released due to the injury history over the past couple seasons.
• MF: This is where I am a bit concerned about the depth and players that we have. We all know what Nyarko can do out on the flank and his ability to create something out of nothing when he is taking on defenders 1 on 1. I believe that Fernandez has definite room to improve since his last handful of games he looked rusty and could not do what he was brought here to do. I think in this case just give him a little more time and he can be a solid contributor, but there are a vast majority of fans that would love to see his head on the chopping block. In my opinion I think he can be a good fit for this team. You know what you are going to get with Pause, Pardo, and Paladini. But what happens to Pause and Pardo after the 2013 season? Pardo should be calling it a career since he will be 37 by this time next year. With Pause how long do we keep him around? As he has shown that he is a trooper and will do anything for the team but over the last month he was usually the first one being subbed in order to try to create some offense. I could see him staying through 2014 in the long run. Frank should start working in Paladini if he is eventually going to replace Pause or Pardo. I have no idea what the long term plan is with Thompson, Bone, and Videira. Are they just going to be filler for the roster to only compete in the reserve league? What is going on with Bone and is he going to get a shot with the first team in 2013 or has he wasted his opportunities? I would not be surprised if he was eventually let go due to his high salary and the possibility of the "Generation Adidas" classification being taken away. Will Pineda see the field in 2013? I hope so. If he is going to be the future of this team then he might as well start getting some in game experience. Is he a possible long term replacement for Pause and Pardo? Maybe. I hope Frank is grooming him to be a player that sticks around for sometime. Now we come to Alex. I think he was brought here as back up to Grazzini and to act as a traditional #10 who has the ability to create plays and make an impact in the middle of the park. I did not see any of this during game situations. I saw flashes and he did score a few goals, but in my mind he was not consistent enough to be that playmaker. He is on a 6 month contract and in my opinion he did not show enough to be back as a regular starter or as a 2nd half sub. I think that Frank and company should go get a #10 that can be consistent week in and week out. I could also be wrong and having Alex with the team from day 1 of the preseason he could actually be that guy the fire need but I don't think he is. I know that Rolfe has dropped back into that withdrawn forward role which is almost that creative playmaker role but we saw what happened during the last month of the season when teams took him out of the game. The Fire were unable to create anything offensively and also had to rely on pushing up field on the outside. Rolfe is a forward and should be used as such. Another position that the Fire need is someone that is able to play out on the wings. Right now we have Nyarko and Fernandez with the occasional Oduro sighting on the outside. For me Oduro is not a winger like Nyarko or Fernandez, he is more of a speedy forward that can play off a target front man. I would like to see Frank go out and try to get some one that can provide some depth on the outside. The midfield corps does not need an overhaul just a few more pieces and we should be good.
• We come now to the forward position. We know that Rolfe, Oduro, and Macdonald will be here throughout next year. Franco should be gone in my mind since he provided little to the team since his arrival back in September. Does Barouch come back from his loan in Israel? Probably not. Our home grown striker, Kellen Gulley, may still need another year in the reserve division or possibly a season on loan in the NASL. The Fire are still in need of that pure clinical finisher that we have been missing for some time. I would like the Fire to go out and find that finisher that we need because with our current squad there was a good amount of missed opportunities this season that could have changed the outcome of games. It is important that frank and company solve this problem if we are to compete for the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup and Open Cup.

I don't see a whole mess of changes in the squad this coming off season but if the FO can fill the certain positions that we need and also fill in the depth on the bench than this team can compete. right now its up to Frank and company to identify those players that would best fit their system and get them in here before the preseason starts in January. I still want them to go out and find that playmaker we need and get that forward that can finish consistently. As always comments are welcome so leave some if you would like. For know its time for me to check out and take a little vacation from the Fire but I will be posting other random thoughts from time to time. As always GO FIRE.