Pardo the Interruption
by Tweed Thornton on Jul 21, 2011 7:58 PM CDT
in Fire Roster News & Analysis
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Rumors of Pavel Pardo are flying around Chicago Fire Country and I think this as close to a done deal as you can get for written and non-written reasons. The only problem? The current roster would not allow it to happen. One of the main intrigues? The team already has several players in the central midfield position. How would a rumored Pardo fit both within the rules and on the field? Follow me after the break.
The International Slot
Problem No. 1 with the Pardo rumor is each team is only given 8 international slots at the beginning of the season in accordance with Part I, Section Domestic/International of the MLS Roster Rules. At first glance there is no room at the international inn so to speak thanks to the following Super 8:
| Team | Player | Roster Type |
| CHI | Marko Maric | International |
| CHI | Bratislav Ristic | International |
| CHI | Marco Pappa | International |
| CHI | Josip Mikulic | International |
| CHI | Sebastian Grazzini | International |
| CHI | Yamith Cuesta | International |
| CHI | Diego Chaves | International |
| CHI | Cristian Nazarit | International |
So are all international player rumors dead on arrival thanks to the signing of Sebastian Grazzini? Not so fast... The Chicago Fire could get rid of one of the players above. Even more involved Fire fans might have forgotten that Marko Maric was part of the team and he still sits on the DL. While not explicitly stated in the MLS' rules, I don't think teams can release injured players. Such occurrences are very few and far between. If Maric is here to stay, then who is next on the hot seat?
'Last in, first out' may be an unofficial motto in corporate America but clearly Chicago is not getting rid of Sebastian Grazzini. Marco Pappa, Cristian Nazarit, Diego Chaves, and Yamith Cuesta are permanent and/or frequent fixtures in the lineup so that leaves us with Josip Mikulic and Bratislav Ristic. Both players are defensive backups at this point and both players have only started a handful of games. Mikulic has received far more positive reviews in his time at center back. Ristic's critical acclaim has been more mixed. Mikulic backs up Cory Gibbs and Yamith Cuesta. Ristic backs up Jalil Anibaba and possibly Gonzalo Segares although Pari Pantazopoulos has seen more time at Segares' LB position in non-MLS regular season action than Ristic has as of late. Segares continues to be the only Fire player to start every MLS game. Throw in the fact that Gibbs and Cuesta are accumulating yellow cards at an accelerated rate and Gibbs is historically due for another injury soon and Mikulic's spot looks much more secure. If the team does sign another international player, I expect Ristic to be released. It's an even easier decision if Ristic signed a one-year contract on September 14, 2010. He's played over 30 games wearing the Fire badge. He might have been overpaid a bit but worse players have milked more money out of the Fire and gave less in the last year.
No player need be released if Chicago can acquire another international slot though. While each team starts with 8 international slots, 144 total slots exist league wide and individual slots can be traded for. Just this past weekend, the New York Red Bulls shipped midfielder Austin da Luz to D.C. United straight up for an international slot. Just earlier today, the Houston Dynamo acquired midfielder Adam Moffat and allocation money from the Portland Timbers today in exchange for defender Mike Chabala, midfielder Lovel Palmer, and an international roster slot. Any team out there not using all 8 international slots and want a rarely used player like Gabriel Ferrari or Michael Videira? Perhaps the team could cook up a trade for another striker and an international spot. Either way we aren't getting a player who doesn't qualify as a domestic player unless a corresponding transaction goes down. It's easy to pull off so let's move ahead of ourselves and examine what would happen to the midfield.
Central Midfield Depth Chart
1. Pavel Pardo
2. Sebastian Grazzini
3. Logan Pause
5. Corben Bone
7. Michael Videira
Outside of Pardo and Grazzini, the other five players represent players that have actually taken the field in the central midfield for Chicago this year and are currently on the team. You can argue the order of Bone-Husidic-Videira but the point is they are down where they are. Frank Klopas selects 4 midfielders for game day and he only subs one in - if at all. Being 5, 6, or 7 don't amount to a hill of beans for most matches.
The depth chart above might be even more controversial because it would send the captain to the bench. I would be surprised if Pause continued to start over Pardo or Grazzini because Pardo and Grazzini would be unnecessary signings if the other midfielders were doing their job. The fact of the matter is the Fire have a pretty good goalie, a pretty good defense, some pretty good wing players, and a variety of forwards that show some promise. The weakest link on this team is the midfield. It's possible that Grazzini and a potential Pardo would be worked in or lose their job due to poor play but they will get their chances just like Pause, Paladini, Bone, Husidic, and Videira before them. You might be excited about the Manchester United game on Saturday but the next Fire transaction will likely have a profound impact on this team going forward in 2011 and beyond.
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do you have years left on the contracts and age? I would hate to see a young guy on a decent contract be traded. But if it is a contract due to expire, not as bad to trade with the cap and all.
by Antonio Collina on Jul 21, 2011 8:08 PM CDT reply actions
I’m assuming you mean the age of all the international players so here we go.
Player Age
Marko Maric 28
Bratislav Ristic 31
Marco Pappa 23
Josip Mikulic 25
Sebastian Grazzini 30
Yamith Cuesta 22
Diego Chaves 25
Cristian Nazarit 20
Pavel Pardo 34 (birthday is on July 26th)
Dropping Ristic also makes the most sense for that reason. He is an older journeyman. Very nice guy who works hard and looked great last season. This season, well, it might be time to part ways.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 21, 2011 8:19 PM CDT up reply actions
You’re the only person I’ve heard say that you can’t cut players on the injured list. The injured list didn’t exist until this season with the expanded rosters. I was under the impression you can cut anyone if you are willing to eat the salary cap hit.
And yet Maric is still here with not much reasoning being in his favor.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 22, 2011 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions
The reasoning in his favor is there is no reason to cut him. We’re stuck with his cap hit no matter what, so unless we need his roster spot for something, it’s worth it to see if he can get healthy. He is back training, so I suspect he’ll be healthy before the end of the year.
I don’t think we’ll get a salary update until after the transfer window closes Aug 15.
There’s more reason to cut him. It would open up an international roster spot and sure he could be healthy by the end of the year but he has a history of injuries, he’ll need to play into game shape, and other players will ideally have a better rhythm together. If the team is out of the playoffs chase, I’d prefer to see Bone or someone younger and domestic, what about you? Just my two cents.
My comment sidetracked a little bit from the debate and my bad on that. Overall I have reasons to believe that players can’t be cut and it includes sources attached to different outlets and different organizations. It’s not set in stone because few things in MLS are and that’s why I said “I don’t think teams…” and “If Maric is here to stay…”.
Who would you cut and/or trade to get an international spot?
Also, I agree that we probably won’t get an update from the Players Union on salary until September or even October.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 22, 2011 11:52 PM CDT up reply actions
If we have to cut someone...
then I agree with you on Maric. Even if we are in for his cap hit no matter what, if the guy isn’t playing then he is pretty much worthless for what we are paying him. Plus it opens that all important international spot. And, as you mentioned Tweed, he has has injury problems, and we don’t need another Nery on our hands.
I would be fine with cutting Ristic too if need be. He has had flashes, but again hasn’t shown me enough to warrant locking up a spot on the current squad.
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by Ryan Sealock on Jul 23, 2011 9:16 AM CDT up reply actions
I heard the same thing..
I think I heard it on a podcast that players on the injury list can’t be cut. Might have been on Extra Time Radio.
On a side note, listening to the guys argue on Extra Time Radio is like cleaning your ears with sandpaper.
by Mark O'Rourke on Jul 22, 2011 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions
was also thinking about some of the other younger guys contracts to see who we could trade for an international spot that wouldn’t set back our development for the future.
by Antonio Collina on Jul 22, 2011 8:01 AM CDT reply actions
Corben Bone is 22 and has a Generation adidas contract. He is the one that would command the most value in the trade market and the only one I would really mind seeing traded. Bone has had his chances this year and at times he’ll disappear but other times he’ll show flashes of great play like when he notched an assist against Toronto when he cutback and created space to pass the ball to Orr Barouch. That was probably the best offensive contribution a central midfielder has made all year.
Baggio Husidic is 24 and Daniel Paladini is 26. They have less time in their ‘developing clock’ and there’s a good chance they both are at their top form right now. Bone and Husidic are evenly matched at the moment and Paladini is better than both. Bone’s upside is higher than the other two.
For all of those reasons, it was discouraging to see Husidic get so many starts recently. He deserved some time to show what he could do but hopefully he is off the radar now.
The last name in the equation is Michael Videira. He is 25 and was cut by the New England Revolution last year. We picked him up and he fell down the rotation after starting a bunch of games early on.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 22, 2011 9:05 AM CDT up reply actions
Has anyone even thought that this signing is just a business move to shore up the bottom line,playing on the hope that his fan base will be near Blanco’s. His contribution to the " W " column would very likely be minimal, according to an actual Club America fan I wager against from time to time, who is glad to see him off.
The central midfield is such a mess that almost any signing can be seen as a good signing. I think it’s likely a strong business consideration is in these talks but as long as Pardo would fit in the salary budget, the team isn’t spending any extra money. If it’s a designated player contract, then you have an issue worth discussing.
Everything I’m hearing and reading points to Pardo not getting a designated player contract. I attribute that to the team having a lot of allocation money left they can use to pay down Pardo’s salary and it would be a half year deal for 2011 at least. Waiting to get into a salary update until next week.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 22, 2011 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree, it probably won’t hurt anything, based on our current situation. Personally, I would not try to fix a broken machine with a worn out part, that’s all I’m getting at.
Well if you think this is a broken machine, I would certainly share your concern. I think the team has the right parts in place, they just need one last catalyst to bring everything together IMO. An effective midfielder who could pass the ball and allow the Fire to play the ball in the middle would take pressure off everyone else and open up the wings. Right now it’s all wing play and teams guard against that.
I have been discouraged by the last two losses. It seems like the Fire found their best starting XI finally and they lost for the first time in almost two months.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 22, 2011 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions
Formation Change Coming along with Pardo?
I’m sick of the flat 4-4-2. I’d like to see something new to spice things up. Maybe a 4-2-3-1. perhaps?
One flaw with this is that I don’t know if any of our forwards are skilled enough to play alone up top. Oduro was getting better at playing on the wing before being moved to forward, and he can’t be any worse than Pappa, except that Pappa has a pretty good shot from distance. I suppose Pappa could be put where Oduro is but 1) Pappa has to quit wandering aimlessly around the field out of position and 2) where does Oduro go? Definitely not on the bench.
Am I on to something? Or is this just asinine?
Or Maybe
Keep essentially the same line up, with the new players taking starting spots and switch to a diamond 4-4-2.
This might be a little more safe and easier to transition too than the 4-2-3-1.
by Mark O'Rourke on Jul 22, 2011 2:37 PM CDT up reply actions
I like thi slineup better...
despite his flaws and the Portland game, the Fire are still better with Pappa on the field. At least they have more potential scoring threat with him out there.
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Tradition. Honor. Passion.
by Ryan Sealock on Jul 22, 2011 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions
sigh...
I suppose there is truth to that. When he was gone during Gold Cup the offense did seem to be lacking something. 5 straight games without Pappa, and we only scored 3 goals. In the 5 games he’s played in since he’s been back, the Portland game was the only one we got shut out in.
by Mark O'Rourke on Jul 22, 2011 7:00 PM CDT up reply actions
on second thought...
3 goals in 5 games versus 4 goals in 5 games isn’t that big a of a difference
by Mark O'Rourke on Jul 22, 2011 7:02 PM CDT up reply actions
True...
I just think that unless we have someone that is as good or better, we aren’t as good of a side without him. In reality, he won’t be with us past next year anyway. He is still young and can learn, and maybe going to a bigger club without a starting spot assured will shore up his play and force him to adopt better decision making. I wish he could stay with us but in reality I know that’s very unlikely.
For as much as we say Sean is young and learning, Marco is not much older.
Hot Time In Old Town SB Nation's blog for Chicago Fire, Soccer, & Chicago History
Tradition. Honor. Passion.
by Ryan Sealock on Jul 22, 2011 8:52 PM CDT up reply actions
I had thought about a 4-5-1 because Grazzini and Pardo in a 4-4-2 would place Pause and Paladini on the bench and stuff the other midfielders way back too. Barouch, Oduro, Chaves and Nazarit aren’t taking the bull by the horns but the same could be said about Pause and Paladini… I think this is part of the frustration. We have rumors, 10 days before a real MLS game, and a view of almost every other MLS team in the standings. We need answers and points fast.
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by Tweed Thornton on Jul 23, 2011 12:00 AM CDT up reply actions
If we get Pardo as a non DP...
I am ok with that. From what I have gathered, he is older, might have a bit left, but don’t expect a lot. And I am fine if we can get a good deal, maybe he can help push us to a playoff spot. However, if we make him a DP, unless he puts the team on his back, it’s gonna be a big mistake. Don’t get me wrong, we definitely need a kick in the butt, but I also don’t want a Jim Hendry type “we need to do something so it might as well be this” signing.
IF we add a true DP, it needs to be someone capable of actually creating a difference vs. someone who will help but in all likelihood won’t be the difference between the playoffs or not. Here’s to hoping Grazzini and Pardo (if we sign him) can make a positive difference together and get this team going.
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Tradition. Honor. Passion.
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