What Is (Or, Perhaps, Was) Wrong With The Fire, As Told By Guest Author Daniel Casey

So from this, it’s been difficult for me to understand what is going on with the Chicago Fire. After a wretched 2010 season, the Fire have managed to rebound in the way a slowly deflating ball does—that is, unsatisfyingly. Nearly all of the usual suspects in commentary have been focusing on finishing and formation, dwelling on midfielders and attack. This is certain a legit vein to mine, however the Fire have been scoring (unlike last year when they couldn’t buy a goal) and for every complaint about finishing there are goals that found the back of the net. The thing is, a team should be able to win 1-0. To dwell on goals when you draw 2-2 or lose 2-1 ignores the possibility that there are some serious problems in the first third of the pitch. The Fire have some incredibly talented midfielders who can defend and threaten from distance (Logan Pause & Daniel Paladini), midfielders who are an ever present threat to score or land a stunning cross for a goal (Marco Pappa, Corben Bone, Gaston Puerari, Patrick Nyarko, & Dominic Oduro). Oduro along with other new face forwards Diego Chaves and Cristian Nazarit have come to complement the current cadre of attack-minded midfielders. There’s no reason to fret about finishing or midfield, any problems will sort themselves out. The glitch? The Fire’s assault panics and overextends itself because it feels it has to cover the whole of the field.

What’s maddening, the Fire have quality defenders and yet… Like many supporters, I didn’t understand the motivation behind now-former manager Carlos de los Cobos decisions. Perhaps the most confusing to me was his absolute refusal to use proper centerbacks. I know that many, many supporters are all about Yamith Cuestra. I can see why, he’s tall, he’s young, and he’s strong. But he’s young and that means he’s impatient, which means he gets beat. A lot. Pairing Cuestra with veteran Cory Gibbs mitigated this, but it seems as though the Fire have a philosophy of all players moving forward. Quite frankly, I should never see a centerback in the box unless it’s a set piece. I loved the equalizer that Gibbs landed against San Jose but that doesn’t erase the fact that he shouldn’t have been up that far. And neither should have Cuestra on at least four occasions in that same match.

Gonzalo Segares is a grand leftback and Jalil Anibaba is finding real success as rightback, would I prefer if they defended more and ran up the wings less? Yes, but they’ve been able to strike a certain balance. I am mystified also by the regular starting of Josip Mikulic, whose talent is real but who is a ridiculous hothead. Pairing him and Cuestra creates a centerback duo just waiting to give up goals and collect yellow cards. I do not want that. What I want is an explanation for why Dasan Robinson and Kwame Watson-Siriboe have been relegated to the reserve squad. Last season these two combined for more than 2000 minutes, they have MLS experience, they’re patient, and, most importantly, they defend first and attack second. I honestly find it difficult to accept Cuestra and Mikulic as starters rather than bench players.

Simple fact is the Fire need a defender who is focused on shutting down opposition forwards, who doesn’t think dribbling out of defense is a good idea, who is always looking to get a clearance, and who on set pieces believes the ball belongs to him (this is the John Terry factor and it’s a bit unfair to expect the talent but it’s not unfair to demand the attitude). With the exception of that last trait, I see all that in Robinson and Siriboe, and I don’t see it in Cuestra and Mikulic. The Fire need to focus on their defensive mindset and stop expecting the midfielders to shoulder all the responsibility.

After articulating these concerns, I learned that Kwame Watson-Siriboe was loaned out to NASL side FC Tampa Bay. With Mikulic out for an unknown duration, I was left scratching my head at this decision. But the team coalesced in their first game under Klopas, they showed a different side of themselves—one that was tight and focused defensively. It was a positive draw. However, a week later against Sporting Kansas City we saw the compliment, a negative draw. The squad appeared out of sorts and angst ridden during and afterward. Although there was some controversy with Ristic’s tackle on Bravo, what the defense did in that match was toe the line. This sent Chicago supporters into Columbus to face rivals that certainly had momentum on their side.

The Fire were in the doldrums again and facing a must win situation—another draw would have created a lethal mixture of indifference and impatience, fatalism in football is a cancer. But what happened? Again the defense played tight, they cleared, they challenged and won balls, and (most importantly) they didn’t over-extend themselves. Now Chicago has momentum, now they have that feeling of having not just turned the page but of being on a bit of an upswing. Let’s hope—let’s believe—as supporters that it’s lasting and not a mirage.