Moderators: kdawg32086, magik9113
patagonia wrote:Been going to fire games for years. Last year they were awful - was the worst season I can remember. I thought some of these acquisitions would help us a bit but that has yet to be seen. What we need is new ownership and to get us out of Toyota Park and find somewhere to play closer to the city,
LittleOzzy wrote:patagonia wrote:Been going to fire games for years. Last year they were awful - was the worst season I can remember. I thought some of these acquisitions would help us a bit but that has yet to be seen. What we need is new ownership and to get us out of Toyota Park and find somewhere to play closer to the city,
Has the team talked about moving closer to the city center? It would help the fan base immensely.
t-time wrote:Noticed the Fire don't really bring any big name players for Europe like the other clubs do. Is there a philosophy on this or do they just not have the cash?
I support the a-league and the competition is also angling towards getting good players from Europe at a good age rather than bringing in big name older players like Del Piero, Heskey, Yorke etc.
patagonia wrote:LittleOzzy wrote:patagonia wrote:Been going to fire games for years. Last year they were awful - was the worst season I can remember. I thought some of these acquisitions would help us a bit but that has yet to be seen. What we need is new ownership and to get us out of Toyota Park and find somewhere to play closer to the city,
Has the team talked about moving closer to the city center? It would help the fan base immensely.
There are rumors the teams is trying to get out of the lease but that seems unlikely unless bridgeview declares bankruptcy.
Competition for places is one of the key ingredients for getting the best out of players in any sport, and Frank Yallop is certainly employing that tactic with his revamped 2015 Chicago Fire roster.
Yallop’s 2014 squad in his first year at the helm of the Fire was undermined by a lack of starting quality beyond the best 14 or 15 players, but that lack of depth was something he addressed with purpose during the offseason: The Fire were one of the most active teams since the end of last season, bringing in 15 new players while parting ways with 18.
It’s led to intense competition throughout the squad this year for a place in Yallop’s starting plans. And that intensity has transferred into results, with the Fire now 2-3-0 and still above the red line in the Eastern Conference despite not playing the last two weekends heading into Friday's home match against New York City FC.
One example of that competition is veteran outside back Lovel Palmer, who started 29 of his 30 appearances last season, losing his place in the starting lineup following the immediate and impressive impact made by fullbacks Eric Gehrig and Joevin Jones – both of whom were offseason acquisitions.
“Everyone wants to be on the field,” Gehrig, 27, told MLSsoccer.com. “Obviously, there’s only 11 spots on the field, and that’s up to Frank, but competition is always good. It keeps you sharp as a player, keeps pushing you on and makes you want to get better and better and prove yourself to the gaffer that you’re the one that he should be picking.”
Palmer started the season-opening defeat to the LA Galaxy at right back, with Gehrig in the center. He then played the next three games at left back, with Gehrig on the right, before moving to the bench for the Fire’s 3-2 victory April 4 over Toronto FC last time out.
“It can only affect me in a positive way because as a professional it’s about being on the pitch and doing the right things to make the team win,” Palmer, 29, said about losing his place in the team. “The coach feels that it’s a better choice to leave me out, but he has his plans for me, he has his plans for the team.
“Whatever he thinks is best I just have to come out on the pitch every single day and work hard in practice hoping to get back in the starting line-up or whenever he calls on me. I know I’m ready to impact in a positive way.”
The Montreal Impact are engaged in talks with former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, the MLS franchise has confirmed.
Sources confirmed last week that several teams were in the mix to land Drogba, 37, with the Chicago Fire making the strongest push, and one source saying the Fire were prepared to offer Drogba an 18-month contract worth around $2.5 million per year.
The Chicago Fire quickly moved to put the disappointment of missing out on Didier Drogba behind them by announcing the signing of Brazilian striker Gilberto and revealing more additions could be on the horizon.
With the announcement Monday that the Ivory Coast striker was on his way to the Montreal Impact on a sign-and-trade deal with the Fire, head coach Frank Yallop said the move allows the club to strengthen multiple areas. The Fire received general and targeted allocation money for Drogba, allowing them to claim the former Toronto FC man off waivers as the team’s third Designated Player by buying down Kennedy Igboananike’s DP contract with funds acquired in the deal.
“I just move on,” Yallop told reporters on his weekly conference call. “Yeah, it was disappointing, I’d love to have ‘Double D’ playing for us, but it wasn’t to be and we move on. We picked up a great player in Gilberto, so in the process we’ve come out of it well. I don’t like to talk about what might be; it’s about what’s going to happen.
“We just move on and get ready for what’s coming in.”
Spens1 wrote:ok i'm confused, so how do you win the rights to a player. does it go centrally through the MLS or something when you sign, so do you sign with the MLS and not the club, and then you get assigned a team? i would have thought if you had the cap, you can sign the player. So if Montreal had the cap or had a DP spot available, they could have signed him straight up
LittleOzzy wrote:Spens1 wrote:ok i'm confused, so how do you win the rights to a player. does it go centrally through the MLS or something when you sign, so do you sign with the MLS and not the club, and then you get assigned a team? i would have thought if you had the cap, you can sign the player. So if Montreal had the cap or had a DP spot available, they could have signed him straight up
All players are signed by MLS, not the club.
It's a confusing system. In this case Chicago owned his "Discovery" Rights so they had to be given the first shot at signing him, and earned some compensation if they player wished to sign elsewhere (Montreal). I hope in the future as the league grows they get rid of this rule. Players should be given the right to sign for whichever team they choose.
Teams can add up to 10 "Discovery" players each season.
magik9113 wrote:3-3 !!!!!!!! Fantastic game!
LittleOzzy wrote:magik9113 wrote:3-3 !!!!!!!! Fantastic game!
For two terrible teams this has been an exciting match.
