2015 MLS Team Preview: Chicago Fire
By Sean Maslin
If the 2014 Chicago Fire were to be summed up in one word it be this word: draw. The Fire set an MLS record last season with 18 ties. The club’s consistently inconsistent form was reminiscent of Major Major from Catch-22. Will the Fire turn those D’s into W’s? Let’s find out:
Quick Numbers
2014 Record: 6-10-18, 36 points
Conference Standing: 9th place
League Standing: 15th place
Top Scorer: Quincy Amarikwa (8)
Top Play-maker: Harry Shipp
Greatest Moment Last Season: Harry Shipp, the Fire’s Homegrown Player signing in 2014, had a coming out party against the New York Red Bulls on May 10th, 2014. The former Notre Dame Fighting Irishman notched his first-ever hat trick as a professional in the Fire’s 5-4 victory over the Red Bulls.
Key Players
Sean Johnson-The hero of 2014, Johnson kept the Fire in matches when they likely should have been pummeled. Although he has always had a flair for the dramatic, Johnson showed a little bit more patience in 2014 which allowed for the Fire to hold on to at least a draw in certain matches. The club has strengthened their defense this off-season, adding Eric Gehrig from Columbus Crew SC and Lovel Palmer from the Portland Timbers.
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Johnson will need to work on his timing this season to allow midfielders to get set for the attack. Picking up Jon Busch, a 13-year MLS veteran, from the San Jose Earthquakes should help him in learning some of the more technical aspects of the position.
Harry Shipp- Although he was not the MLS Rookie of the Year, there was likely no player that had more of a positive impact on his club than Shipp. A midfielder who can not only score (7 goals in 2014) but is very comfortable orchestrating an attack, Shipp appears to much more mature than his age lets on. He is also an excellent free kick taker, something that the Fire will depend on in 2015.
The one area that he could improve on in 2015 is his defending. The midfield position is a position that requires to be both cognitive of the team’s need on the attack but mindful of their strengths and weaknesses on defense. At times last season Shipp would be too focused on the attack and leave the Fire susceptible to counter-attacks. The addition of Shaun Maloney from Wigan and Jeff Larentowicz moving to a more of a defensive-midfield position should help alleviate the workload on Shipp and free him up for the attack.
With Mike Magee still out with a right hip injury, the Fire will depend on Shipp to lead this club.
Key Departure
Bakary Soumare-The Chicago Fire are unique in that they really did not lose many players of note from 2014. Many of the players are gone from that roster either retired (Logan Pause, Gonzalo Segares,) had their loan deal expire (Benji Joya,) or had their option declined because the club was looking for an upgrade (Patrick Ianni).
The one player that the Fire might have liked to keep, if for nothing more than for roster depth, would have been Soumare. He was taken in the Re-Entry Draft by the Montreal Impact after having made 48 appearances with the Fire over the past two seasons.
Although Soumare was never Best XI-caliber player he always did serviceable job and even with the club’s additions over the winter the Fire still could use a defender of Soumare’s experience.
The Big Question: Can This Team Finish Matches?
If there was one particular reason as to why the Chicago Fire ended up with 18 draws in 2014 perhaps the biggest indicator was their play in the second half. Of the club’s 51 goals conceded in 2014, 30 came in the second half and 17 were after the 75th minute.
Conversely, the club scored just 13 of their 41 goals in the second half with just 11 coming after the 75th minute. That leads the club to having a second-half goal differential of minus 17 and minus 4 after the 75th minute.
Fire management in the off-season seemed to recognize this problem in the off-season by adding Palmer, Gehrig, Adliton (Bahia,) and Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobago international) on defense. But the club is gambling that forwards David Accam (Helsingborgs,) Kennedy Igboananike (AIK,) and Guy de Prado (Southampton) can add an immediate offensive punch.
The Fire have a roster of young players like Johnson, Shipp, and defender Patrick Doody that they can build around. It is just a question if the club can find that right mix of talent from outside of their system to put this club over the top.