Hot Time In Old Town: FanPosts

Anyone take the 'new and improved' buses yet this season?

2013-05-07T18:41:00Z

I recently moved to Noble Square area so Cleo's is within walking distance. I have always taken the bus from the Globe previously. Just wondering if anyones got any inside info on these new ones. From what I have read they get there a bit later than Id like. To leave Cleo's at 11:00 am seems like a little late for a 12:30 kickoff... Any thoughts/ ideas would be appreciated. Thanks guys. Looking forward to the game Saturday.

Thompson suspended 1 game and fined

2013-04-25T20:27:58Z

The Chicago Fire announced today that the MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended Wells Thompson one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for his tackle on Agustin Viana that resulted in a yellow card during this past Saturday's game against the Crew. So I guess we go into another game with yet another starting 11. I would like to see Paladini get another start and shift Pause to RB. Though Pause and Larentowicz have been pairing well in the middle. Do we see another start from Videira?

More on Mila

2013-04-24T01:46:45Z

Looks like the MLS home page has more on a possible move. I like Frank's quote in particular.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/04/23/chicago-fire-admit-theyre-looking-polish-international-midfielder-sebastian-

Looks like the MLS home page has more on a possible move. I like Frank's quote in particular.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/04/23/chicago-fire-admit-theyre-looking-polish-international-midfielder-sebastian-

Homegrown Hero: Victor Pineda's Rise and Return

2013-03-30T23:33:26Z

Photo courtesy of www.chicago-fire.com

The MLS homegrown player system isn’t something that makes a lot of news throughout a given season, but it is one that has gotten the attention of Chicago Fire fans, most recently with the rise of Victor Pineda, the Fire’s first homegrown player signing in team history. Through the years Victor Pineda has worked his way up the ranks of the Chicago Fire Academy, while still splitting time training with U.S. Youth camps. In 2010 he became the Fire’s first homegrown signing in clubs history, but here is a closer look at Victor’s rise to Fire.

Pineda began his career with the Chicago Fire in 2008 as a part of the U16 academy squad and has worked his way up through the system, eventually earning a contract with the club. The Fire weren’t the only ones to notice Pineda’s talent and in 2008 he left the Fire Academy and began training with the U.S. U17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fl., a full-time soccer development program where players train daily with US U17 Men’s National Team coaches and attend classes at St. Stephens Episcopal School. Pineda trained with the US U17 camp in Fall of ‘08, and trained with some notable MLS regulars such as Juan Agudelo of Chivas USA, Eriq Zavaleta of Seattle Sounders, and Perry Kitchen of DC United.

While only making appearances in 2 Chicago Fire Academy U-17 matches before departing for the residency program, Pineda returned in 2009 and saw regular field time at the academy, appearing in 28 matches and leading the U16s with 8 goals and winning a USSFDA National Championship in Carson, California while recording 2,160 minutes played throughout the season. Pineda’s 2009-2010 campaign with CFA was the breakout performance that lead up to signing with the first team in 2010.

Pineda also continued training with the U.S. Men’s team, starting all 4 games in which he appeared in 2010 for the US U18s, scoring his first international goal in his debut in a 2-1 defeat against Bolivia. He is also currently part of the U.S. Men’s U20 National Team pool. Although his injury kept him out of the US camp as they qualified for the U20 FIFA World Cup in Turkey set to take place this summer, Pineda said in a recent interview with Fire staff that he will be working to compete for a spot to take part in the summer championship, starting with US U20 camp set to start in early April.

Although a knee injury suffered in training late last season left Pineda using the offseason to recover from surgery to repair his torn left meniscus, he has now begun training regularly with the Fire, and saw 20 minutes of playing time in Friday morning’s friendly against Minnesota United FC at the Toyota Park training field, coming on in the 71st minute for midfielder Jeff Larentowitz.

Despite the slow process to full recovery, Pineda seems to be taking his return from injury in stride, saying he is excited just to be back training with the team, and remaining confident in his ability and working to get back to 100% physically and shake the soreness he’s been feeling for the last few weeks. He recently tweeted via his account @VictorPineda93 "patience is what it takes", assuming he was referring to readiness to get back on the field and potentially making his official MLS debut this season.

Even at age 20, a young Victor Pineda is showing some veteran resolve knowing that his eagerness to get back to the Fire’s 18-man match day roster is not to be rushed. With the Fire’s recent struggle in form, the sight of Pineda on the sideline for the team would undoubtedly be a welcome change for the Fire faithful.

Photo courtesy of www.chicago-fire.com

Fire Officially Sign Kann

2013-03-20T02:03:39Z

In case you missed it earlier today, the Fire officially inked 3rd string GK Alec Kann to a deal. While this was a move to be expected after he struck around the pre-season ahead of everyone else, we officially have a 3rd string GK now. And it's a good time to announce it with SJ being on USMNT duty. While Paolo is more than capable of handling the starting role until the Milkman returns, should an unthinkable injury happen we now know who would step in next.

Help the Chicago Fire Foundation - Catch some Chicago Fire soccer for free

2013-03-19T14:58:22Z

This Sunday, March 24, 2013, One Brick Chicago is teaming up with the Chicago Fire Foundation and you can watch a half of Chicago Fire soccer for free by helping them out.

Between 2:30-5:00 p.m., One Brick Chicago will be selling 50/50 raffle tickets to benefit the Chicago Fire Foundation. Once you are done selling tickets, volunteers are welcome to watch the 2nd half of the game at no cost.

Kick-off for this Sunday's game is at 4:00 PM. Anyone who is interested in signing-up can do so right here at this link.

One Brick

One Brick provides support to local non-profit and community organizations by creating a unique, social and flexible volunteer environment for those interested in making a concrete difference in the community. We enable people to get involved, have an impact and have fun, without the requirements of individual long-term commitments.

Chicago Fire Foundation

The Chicago Fire's goal on the field is to play hard and win. Its goal off the field is to contribute to the quality of life in Chicago and its surrounding communities. Through the Chicago Fire Foundation, the Fire is able to give back to the community by developing programs that reach out to Chicagoland's community. Since 1998, the Chicago Fire Foundation, the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer Team, has made significant contributions to enhance the lives of disadvantaged youth throughout Chicagoland.

This Sunday, March 24, 2013, One Brick Chicago is teaming up with the Chicago Fire Foundation and you can watch a half of Chicago Fire soccer for free by helping them out.

Kick-off for this Sunday's game is at 4:00 PM. Anyone who is interested in signing-up can do so right here at this link.

One Brick

Chicago Fire Foundation

Opening Night Section 8 Tifo

2013-03-10T21:30:08Z

Just wanted to post this up and share it with anyone that hasn't seen it yet. Definitely one of my favorite pieces of work from the S8 crew. While the result of the game didn't end as we all wanted, the tifo work was top notch like always. If you want to be part of some awesome displays like this, make sure you get ahold of S8 and lend a hand. Enjoy:

Fire Home Opener 2013 Tifo (via Cindy Holda)

Soldier Field To Host Gold Cup Final

2013-02-23T16:53:18Z

In case you missed it, it should be quite the summer in Chicago this year. Apart from the Men in Red tearing up MLS play, Soldier Field will host the Gold Cup final. Hopefully the USMNT will once again make an appearance in the final. How great would it be to have a US/Mexico re-match in the heart of downtown Chicago? Summer is certainly shaping up to be one to remember for soccer fans.

Pascal Chimbonda In Camp With The Fire

2013-02-15T02:32:48Z

This certainly makes the RB picture much more interesting. While there is no guarantee the 33 year old will actually make the team, it would be great to see him get fit and in good form. RB is still a shaky position right now as Logan Pause has seemingly won the spot, at least at this point in time. While many don't agree with this decision, Frank just doesn't seem to want to remove Logan from the lineup yet on a regular basis.

Jalil Anibaba is still trying to learn a new position, and Steve Kinney is finally healthy and looking good but will need more than a couple of pre-season games to prove he is really back. If you throw Chimbonda into the mix, it becomes a true free for all if he shows some quality form. That would also make for a very experienced back line save for young Austin Berry. Quite the scenario is developing on the back line. At least we are building some much needed depth.

No matter what happens, MLS continues to become a destination for European veterans. Who knows, Chimbonda could look very nice in Fire red if all the cards fall right for 2013.

SeanJohn REPPING FIRE with USA

2013-01-30T02:12:53Z

Sean Johnson's starting for the USA! This caught me by surprise, as I just got home from a long day of work. I'm sure the twitterverse has chewed this over already, but I'm psyched for him.

And for us! Our keeper starts for the USA!

Sean Johnson's starting for the USA! This caught me by surprise, as I just got home from a long day of work. I'm sure the twitterverse has chewed this over already, but I'm psyched for him.

And for us! Our keeper starts for the USA!

Flaco out on loan?

2013-01-14T22:33:32Z

Flaco may be on his way out according to a rumor post over as at Chicago Fire Confidential. Rumors have surfaced linking Flaco with a loan spell at Al Rayyan in Qatar. According to a report, it looks like a done deal. A news report (not from the Chicago Fire or MLS) can be seen here: http://www.montevideo.com.uy/ucmovil_189828_1.html which seems to indicate that this move may become more than just a loan. Maybe Klopas got tired of the inconsistency and is shopping around for a replacement. The cost would be too high to try to off load Flaco in MLS and they know he can be inconsistent, so why not ship him out abroad. I guess the coach at Al Rayyan has previously coached Flaco, so he must know what he is getting. The question is then who plays that left mid position? Lindpere has stated he wants to play centrally. Are the Fire after an MLS ready draftee for that position? Is there an MLS ready player for that position in the draft? I guess we'll wait and see in the coming days how things go down with the draft as well as if this Flaco rumor holds any water.

#cf97withdrawals

2013-01-10T03:25:13Z

At this point we are all suffering from cf97 withdrawal. Fortunately each passing day gets us a bit closer to the regular season. Check out this first video in the #cf97withdrawal series, courtesy of Chris Rolfe. It should be interesting to see what Brendan Hannan and company can come up with in the march towards opening day. I like the added touch of Rolfe wearing his soccer shoes in bed too. Opening day is less that 2 months away now!

Sean Johnson Named to January USMNT Roster

2013-01-07T01:08:47Z

Although this is starting to be obvious and expected news, Sean Johnson has once again been called up to the USMNT roster by Jurgen Klinsmann. The Americans will face Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium on January 29th at 8PM CST. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.

While this may seem like another pointless friendly, importance is higher as this is the final match before the US begins Hexagonal qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. So the team needs to be in shape before the February 6th matchup vs. Honduras.

In my opinion, Sean Johnson should and will start this match. He is the top young option right now in the US pool and this is a chance to show what he has. He still has a long career ahead of him but a good performance here will help his standing down the road. Here is a complete roster for your reading pleasure:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)
DEFENDERS (9): Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Edson Buddle (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Knockout Reaction and Off season Questions

2012-11-02T02:22:35Z

Honestly, the reaction on Twitter last night was nothing like I was feeling. There was way more optimism than I was feeling on the 1hr 10 min drive home.

I saw several tweets immediately after the game saying things like "Remember where we were last season." I do remember. Frank came in mid-season and turned this team around with some big midseason signings and a new mentality that the we could sense from the stands. This was a completely different team than the one under De Los Cobos. We were no longer playing for ties, we were going for the throat, and I LOVED it. We narrowly missed the playoffs, and when we didn’t lose anyone to the expansion draft, I was thinking we could make a deep playoff run.

The thing I was really ticked about last night and am still smoldering about today is that we’ve seen this team play better than they have the last month. How is it that a team that went 8-2-1 after the international break closes out final month of the season 1-3-1? Was it that the league finally figured out how to play Chris Rolfe? Maybe, but with the other signings, we (at least should have) had the tools to overcome that. I never fully realized how big he and other midseason signings were. Check out the results map: http://www.mlssoccer.com/results. The Fire were 12-7-3 since Rolfe returned to the field against NE on June 2nd. Up until his return, the Fire were spotty and weren’t consistent. Big Mac came in on July 28th and then we really started clicking. I think it is essential to find out why we started sagging against teams who were not contending. I know when teams are out of the race they love to play spoiler, but the losses to Philly and New England still should not have happed. We should have been able to trounce New England especially when Matt Reis, possibly my most hated MLS keeper, was not in the net! Maybe with a full preseason, the forwards will really get to know and gel with the midfield and we can work out better options.

I think that with the right moves this offseason, we can properly utilize Chris and get back where we belong: MLS Cup Finals.

Post-Season Roster thoughts:

Note: I do not have much information on how long we have most of these players under contract for, so where I don’t know, I am assuming we need to resign them.

GK Sean Johnson – Lock him up in a long term contact now, if it hasn’t been done already! SJ looked great after coming back from… well, most of us know it wasn’t his fault, so I’m going to leave it at that. It’s been widely predicted he’s going to go far and I hope we see him between the pipes in Bridgeview for the foreseeable future.

GK Paolo Tornaghi – I loved what I saw of this guy when he played, its safe to say we had one of the best backup keepers in the league. But with SJ no longer eligible for the U-23 team, (pretty sure) and not getting minutes on the senior team, do we need to keep him and take up an international slot? Also, IMO, this guy deserves first team minutes and is being wasted in the Reserves. Maybe we could resign and trade him? We should be able to get someone good for his skills.

D Cory Gibbs – If Arne comes back next year, I think Gibbs is done in Chicago.

D Austin Berry – Give him a 3-4 year contact with a decent raise and watch him continue to get better. Could he be the next CJ Brown? Ok, that may be an exaggeration (right now J), but Berry has got to be one of the best draft picks we’ve made.

D Arne Friedrich – Absolutely must resign him this season. Frank wants him back, he wants to come back, this should be a no brainer.

M Corben Bone – Scott at OnTheFire tweeted base and guaranteed salaries for this year and Bone has a base salary of $100k with about $160k guaranteed. Once his Generation Adidas status is up, unless he REALLY starts impressing people, he’s gone.

M Alvaro Fernandez – Say it with me now: Hey hey, hey, GOODBYE! Ditch this guy any way you can. When news of his signing was announced, I was optimistic. A DP mid that we got for allocation money (probably some of what we got for Conde’s rights) who has a green card and didn’t take up an international slot. What could go wrong, right? I had posted a comment on an MLS article asking why Seattle let him go and a Sounder supporter said essentially that he was benched and inconsistent. I thought a change in scenery might do him good, but unfortunately, Flaco never found his groove with the Fire. In 13 matches with the Fire, Fernandez averaged a rating of 5.15 from Guillermo Rivera on Fire Confidential. Granted this is not scientific, but you want a guy holding a DP slot to earn some more confidence from fans. Unfortunately, I don’t know who will take him. After shaky performances with Seattle and now us, who’s going to want to waste a DP slot on him? I know he’s under contract for next year, so we may be stuck with him. I was ok with the gamble we took on him: Funny money we got for a defender we weren’t going to sign anyway. Unfortunately, Flaco’s been a bust.

M Alex – I didn’t get a chance to see Alex at the preseason games, so when someone said he was Grazzini minus 8 years, I was encouraged. (This was before the whole Grazzini debacle.) Unfortunately, the arrival of Flaco kept him on the bench and I don’t think we’ve seen Alex’s full potential. Keep him around.

M Wells Thompson – Signed him for the playoff push, didn’t use him much, wasn’t impressed with what I did see.

F Chris Rolfe – The first Fire signing that I was actually excited about in a very long time! Unfortunately, after the departure of Grazzini, they tried to put him in the playmaker role. Chris Rolfe is a forward! That’s not to say that he didn’t make some wonderful passes this year, though. Play him as the forward he is, and that would be a huge boost to the offense.

F Sherjill MacDonald – I think with a full preseason with the Fire under his belt, the Dutchman will improve and become a target up top. If it comes down to him and Franco, I think his age and speed have us keep him over Franco. However, if we do keep him, there are other questions that have to be answered.

F Guillermo Franco – Another signing for playoff run that we didn’t see much of, but this was due to his own poor decision. A lot will depend on how long his contract is for, not sure if it was just through the end of the season.

The $64,000 question is, what do we do to fix the offense? Do we try to fix it with what we have now, or do we sign a big name forward? We can’t keep MacDonald and Rolfe and sign a new forward. If we do, we have a three man midfield, and good luck trying to figure out who to start in a three man midfield. Plus, every time I’ve seen a three-man backline in MLS, it’s ended badly.

Fire To Do List:

1) Figure out how to fix the offense. If we sign a striker , he needs to be a bone fide scorer. Go out there and spend that Keane money! No more Bargain Basement unknown DP’s! (I will grant that it did pay off somewhat with Sherjill.)

2) Resign Friedrich and secure the back line.

3) Unload Flaco

4) Find the playmaker mid. Whether it be Alex or someone else, don’t try to force Rolfe in that role.

Any thoughts?

Honestly, the reaction on Twitter last night was nothing like I was feeling. There was way more optimism than I was feeling on the 1hr 10 min drive home.

I think that with the right moves this offseason, we can properly utilize Chris and get back where we belong: MLS Cup Finals.

Post-Season Roster thoughts:

Note: I do not have much information on how long we have most of these players under contract for, so where I don’t know, I am assuming we need to resign them.

D Cory Gibbs – If Arne comes back next year, I think Gibbs is done in Chicago.

D Arne Friedrich – Absolutely must resign him this season. Frank wants him back, he wants to come back, this should be a no brainer.

M Wells Thompson – Signed him for the playoff push, didn’t use him much, wasn’t impressed with what I did see.

Fire To Do List:

2) Resign Friedrich and secure the back line.

3) Unload Flaco

4) Find the playmaker mid. Whether it be Alex or someone else, don’t try to force Rolfe in that role.

Any thoughts?

Ruben's Thoughts On The DC Game

2012-10-26T02:54:54Z

HTIOT's very own Ruben Tisch appeard on Black And Red United's podcast the other night to talk about Saturday's matchup. The Podcast, called the Filibuster, covers a variety of topics, but most importantly a look at Saturday's heated clash. Ruben even predicts a multi-goal performance. It's definitely worth listening to so I encourage you to check it out. Ruben's prediction certainly seems to have bristled the feathers of a few DC fans that posted in the comments section. Nothing wrong with getting things heated up a few days early...