Chicago Fire vs New York City FC: Nothing Forever
Despite physically being inside Soldier Field for all 90 minutes with my eyes on the pitch, I’m still unsure of whether or not a game was actually played. At the end of the day, the result was a 0-0 draw between the Chicago Fire and New York City FC. That is what was on the scoreboard at the end of 90. But on the pitch, it’s very debatable whether either team deserved a point.
In the first half, neither team had any sort of real chance. Gabriel Slonina had his first “save” of the game in the 1st minute, but it was just a weak roller from Valentin Castellanos. The closest chance in the first half for either team might’ve been a header from Jonathan Bornstein at the far post in the 37th minute, but even that was well over the bar. The only thing of note was Keaton Parks seeing an admittedly soft yellow card in the 42nd minute.
Was the second half any better? When you’re comparing 0 to 1, 1 is certainly an improvement. But it’s not much. Francisco Calvo coughed up the ball at the corner of the box in the 47th minute, giving NYCFC their best chance of the night from Castellanos. But, it didn’t have much on it and was stopped without too much effort from Slonina. Bornstein also got a second chance in this half the very next minute when he ran onto the ball going into the box. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a shot and his cross inside was blocked. In the 73rd minute, a few minutes removed from a shot that curled way wide of the target, Keaton Parks received his second yellow for taking down Ignacio Aliseda. But, despite the man advantage, the Fire didn’t really do much else and the game ended scoreless.
Here’s three things we can talk about.
Pointless
This game was absolutely meaningless and pointless. Nothing was learned, nothing was gained. The only good thing I can say is that a couple of younger players got some minutes, but that’s really it. Before the game, I put a lot of meaning onto this one for the Chicago Fire, saying that if they lost this would be it for the season. They didn’t lose. They didn’t win. They didn’t really do anything. This was a nothing game.
New York City FC didn’t help with this either, somehow not showing to the game at all. Unlike many of the Fire’s other surprise performances against better teams, NYCFC had a first choice lineup out there. But they just didn’t look like they were even there. Neither team wanted anything on a Wednesday night and it showed.
Radio Gaga
Really, the only player who wanted anything out of this match got what he wanted: a clean sheet. Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina was called on to start between the sticks in this one after the great martyr Bobby Shuttleworth was finally given a break to heal up after a rough night in Philly. There was some speculation going into the game about whether it would be Slonina to start or if the Chicago Fire would call up Chris Brady from Forward Madison to take charge. Brady has been getting plenty of playing time up in Wisconsin, nearly winning Goalkeeper of the Year last season despite playing only half the season in the USL. Slonina, on the other hand, had been in Chicago the whole time. He was waiting for his moment and even warmed up on the sideline plenty of times in preparation for possible early exits from Shuttleworth.
The Chicago Fire have had issues at the goalkeeping position ever since Sean Johnson, who played on the other side of this game, was traded. Not just with failed signings, but even youth prospects began to go missing. Damian Las, who was expected to be the future of goalkeeping in Chicago, ended up signing for Fulham and is now on loan in North Carolina. With Chris Brady’s impressive performances on loan and Gaga Slonina’s record-breaking performance to become the youngest goalkeeper to start and get a clean sheet in MLS, there’s hope for the future of the goalkeeping position in Chicago.
Safe… For The Moment
Since the game was so boring, there’s only one thing left to talk about. What’s next? Przemyslaw Frankowski was absent in this game and when asked about it after the game, coach Raphael Wicky refused to answer the question specifically, but seemed to all but confirm that Frankowski will be going to France to play for RC Lens. This sets the stage for what is coming after this season. While I will technically not call this season dead yet if the Chicago Fire win their next two at home, it still is time to start looking at next season. With a lot of contracts expiring and a lot of room to work with, do Georg Heitz and Raphael Wicky get another chance?
Whether or not they deserve another chance, the question is whether they will get one. Heitz was forced to build an entire team in less than three months while still struggling to learn MLS Roster Regulations. After forcing the team to stay together for an extra season, is that “still learning” excuse still valid? Maybe. And while I’d hope that owner Joe Mansueto look for a better option at that role, Heitz looks to be pretty safe with his job.
Fire fans are getting incredibly antsy about turning this team around, especially now as they’re watching the nearby Chicago Bulls making massive moves during their offseason. While maybe not contending for a championship, the Bulls have gone from mediocre to getting projected as a lock for the playoffs. So that leaves Fire fans asking: What’s stopping the Chicago Fire from making those same sort of big moves going into 2022?