Hooked on a Feeling
With being second place in MLS’s Eastern Conference being something of a booby-prize, it’s hardly surprising that people can’t find much good to say about the Chicago Fire’s season so far. And there’s ample cause for complaint: Chicago bookended the modest, three-game winning streak that opened their new stadium with two five-game runs mixing draws and losses; worse, losses outnumbered the draws in both cases. Once one adds odd little details - like the fact that they split the season mini-series with Real Salt Lake back when that team sucked, or that Chivas USA owns them in 2006 - the grumbling seems entirely justified.
And yet, of all the teams in the Eastern Conference, the Fire suddenly seems the likeliest candidate to pull together a late season push. Their recent surge, a four-game winning streak split between league (LINK, LINK) and U.S. Open Cup play (LINK, LINK), when combined with some plausible explanations for the earlier stumbles, point to a Chicago team that could be peaking at precisely the right time.
The Past
First of all, Chicago doesn’t do blow-outs (OK, one exception linked to above), neither on the giving nor the receiving ends. They’ve played the majority of teams very closely, but a knack surrendering late goals (as happened here, here, and here) meant the Fire repeatedly gave up points, sometimes two, sometimes one, this season. But when one digs through the match reports - all of them available here; just click the score - one rarely reads about Chicago getting badly outplayed.
It’s possible that fatigue played a role in those late collapses. After all, Chicago opened the season on a nine-game road-trip in order to provide time for the completion of Toyota Park. They did come back for one “soft” home game (whatever that means), but then went on the road again for their next two - and they lost both of those. More significant, though, were the injuries that bubonic plague key players - most notably, Chicago’s defensive leaders. During the first five-game run mentioned above - a late May to mid-June stretch in which Chicago lost four and drew one - they played without Jim Curtin, Diego Gutierrez, and Tony Sanneh; on the offensive side, the same period saw Justin Mapp sitting out, while Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe either played through injury or not at all. The second five-game skid, which made for an ugly July (three losses, two draws), saw them still without both Curtin and Rolfe.
Key Men
So many of them appeared below, but it’s worth putting them in context here. Jim Curtin, for instance, anchors the central defense, while Diego Gutierrez both roams the midfield and chips in (a bit) on offense. Persistent injury has seriously limited Tony Sanneh’s participation for the past couple season, so, when he does show, it’s probably feels like a bonus as much as anything. But getting the first two players back means a hell of a lot to Chicago’s defensive solidity.
The one - literally, the only - constant in Chicago’s offense has been Ivan Guerrero; he doesn’t rack up enormous numbers, but provides nearly as much to Chicago as a guy like Joshua Gros does for DC United. All the other key players - forwards Nate Jaqua, Chris Rolfe, and Chad Barrett - suffered through injury at some point this season. Thiago, the Brazilian midfielder who was expected to run their offense this season, apart from a flash or two, hasn’t been up to snuff ; nor has Justin Mapp, for that matter - at least not till recently. Even so, Mapp's healthy right now and picking it up; Thiago, for his part, picked up a knock, which constitutes one last worry now that most the other players have healed.
Injuries aside, none of these players are posting gigantic numbers. Fortunately, they haven’t had to; by collective effort, Chicago’s still produces decent offense - just under the league average of 29 goals for, in fact. Still, any one of these players picking up their game could help the Fire separate from the pack. As if on cue, another potential star, Andy Herron, has done just that...and there was much rejoicing...
These more notable players aside, the Fire also managed a competent rookie class. Jeff Carlisle, writing over on ESPN’s site, wrote defender Dasan Robinson's name on his short list of candidates for Rookie of the Year. Add Calen Carr to the mix, who performed well in recent U.S. Open Cup play, and Chicago shows its depth in some crucial positions.
The Future
Now that they’ve got a schedule with reasonable balance between home and away games and most of their key players healthy - not to mention one intriguing late-season acquisition (one Pascal Bedrossian) - the Chicago Fire hits the home stretch looking pretty damn good. Here’s what that (mostly) healthy selection will face in the weeks ahead:
Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, Red Bull New York, @ Columbus Crew, @ Colorado Rapids, DC United, Los Angeles Galaxy, @ Red Bull New York, Columbus Crew, @ DC United
Basically, the Fire is in great shape to make a hell of a lot of noise. After having already wrapped up their season series against the New England Revolution (2-1-1) and the Kansas City Wizards (2-1-1), the home-and-home series against their other three Eastern Conference rivals loom large. With both the Columbus Crew and Red Bull New York, frankly, dancing on the rim of the toilet, the two games against DC United seem most menacing. But like every other team, Chicago has played DC close - one 1-0 away loss and a 1-1 home draw the Fire should have won, ought to help with the mental side by making that 19-point lead look smaller.
At the same time, Chicago has been average, arguably the most average outfit in the league. Their season pivots on the question of whether they can break out of that. Being able to field their star players, and keeping them fit going forward, should help with that. Getting them to play just one notch higher - especially on the offensive side - should be enough to make Chicago look awfully menacing in the post-season. And that’s when it really matters.
For what it’s worth, I view Chicago as one of the two key teams to watch. And DC United ought to watch as closely as anyone.
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