Tonight the Fire travel to take on Sporting Kansas City in what looks like could be the game that could be for 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Right now the Fire are the hottest team in the league averaging more than 2 goals a game since the beginning of August and only giving up an average of 1 goal a game since the beginning of September. SKC on the other hand has only scored 2 goals in 3 of their last 8 games and has been inconsistent record wise since the beginning of August by winning some tough games and tieing some very winnable games. this game has major implications when it comes to the standings atop the East. If the Fire can manage a win tonight then they will be in the driver's seat for the Eastern Conference title have 1 game in hand and very winnable games left on the schedule(home to Philly and DC, away to NE). It won't be the end of the world if the Fire don't manage a win tonight, but if they can win and get the East title then that would mean avoiding a possible matchup with NJ Redbulls. I think the Fire can go in and win tonight by a score line of 2-0 with goals coming from Macdonald and Nyarko.
I know I have been questioning the FO's moves and it seems that they have paid off. I know other sites have been analyzing the rest of the season and taking a stab at where the Fire can finish. To me i would like the Fire to finish 1st of course but i certainly hope that they can avoid that 4th or 5th place finish so they can avoid that play in game. As proven in the past regular season doesn't mean anything once the playoffs start. I mean think about it Colorado won an MLS cup and they're horrible. I also hate to stir up nightmares but RSL beat us at home and went on to beat the heavily favored Galaxy one year. Our first year we weren't supposed to win it all and look what happened. I know finishing atop the East would mean avoiding SKC and NJ in my opinion so that would be great but the way we are playing as a team I feel that we match up against both of them really well. First test is tonight though and hopefully our defense can stop the sputtering offense of SKC tonight and we can look forward to finishing the season strong and riding the momentum into the playoffs.
Look for comments about the game tomorrow mid to late morning from me again if you enjoy my opinions.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
Hey, What's With The Yellow?
So the Fire take on the Crew in a match that is a must win for both teams. After coming off an impressive win against the Impact, our Men in Red look to continue their home dominance while the Crew look to win to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. This should be a good game to watch albeit the weather conditions that might happen, but who doesn't like a good rivalry game played while battling the elements? Well instead of going into details about the game I'll just give you my prediction: 2-1 to the Fire. It will be a rough hard fought game but I think the Fire will be able to take advantage of the sold out stadium that will be rocking.
I'd like to pose the question of how far can this team go? So far through the games that were played through Wednesday of this week, Chicago sits second in the East and third in the league. I will have to guess that the Fire are going to make the playoffs and possibly do well. This could be indicated by the superb play that they have managed over the past 2 months(granted they had their off night against DC). How long will this quality play last? Where we have been scoring 2-3 goals per game and our defense has been outstanding. I honestly don't know, because anything can happen on the field and I have come to expect that from any team that I support. If this play continues though they have a good chance of going far into the playoffs and winning the MLS Cup. I hope Frank is bringing the guys down to Earth though because they can't be looking at what happens in a month from now but what happens in the next game. Maybe we'll see a return to dominance for the Fire, which I hope so.
I know in the past I have questioned and often criticized the Front Office and Owner about the moves they have made or were going to make. Well apparently I was wrong about some of them. The FLaco move was a steal and he seems to be rejuvinated by playing here, Macdonald who knew he would adapt this well, and Alex well its Alex and the jury is still out on him. I would like to see what is going to happen this coming off season though. I will have my thoughts on that later on after the season is over, hopefully around the first week of December.
So here is to the Fire and I hope another 3 points taken from the Crew. I will try to have something special this week before the showdown with SKC.
I'd like to pose the question of how far can this team go? So far through the games that were played through Wednesday of this week, Chicago sits second in the East and third in the league. I will have to guess that the Fire are going to make the playoffs and possibly do well. This could be indicated by the superb play that they have managed over the past 2 months(granted they had their off night against DC). How long will this quality play last? Where we have been scoring 2-3 goals per game and our defense has been outstanding. I honestly don't know, because anything can happen on the field and I have come to expect that from any team that I support. If this play continues though they have a good chance of going far into the playoffs and winning the MLS Cup. I hope Frank is bringing the guys down to Earth though because they can't be looking at what happens in a month from now but what happens in the next game. Maybe we'll see a return to dominance for the Fire, which I hope so.
I know in the past I have questioned and often criticized the Front Office and Owner about the moves they have made or were going to make. Well apparently I was wrong about some of them. The FLaco move was a steal and he seems to be rejuvinated by playing here, Macdonald who knew he would adapt this well, and Alex well its Alex and the jury is still out on him. I would like to see what is going to happen this coming off season though. I will have my thoughts on that later on after the season is over, hopefully around the first week of December.
So here is to the Fire and I hope another 3 points taken from the Crew. I will try to have something special this week before the showdown with SKC.
Friday, September 14, 2012
So Yeah.........
I know I have been slacking off for those who actually read my musings. Lets just say work, responsibilities at home, and a much needed vacation have prevented me from dedicating as much time that I need to write on a consistent basis. I know I also missed a big chunk of the season but I'm back and should hopefully have some more time to dedicate to this thing. So lets get started.
The last game I mentioned was way back when the Fire travelled to Philly to take on the Union on August 12th. Since then here are the results that I have missed writing about: 2-1 home win vs. the Revs, 4-2 away loss vs. DC, 3-1 home win vs. Houston, 2-2 home draw vs. Santos Laguna(friendly), and then a 2-1 away win vs. TFC on Wednesday. So in that stretch the Fire were able to go 3-1-1(including the Santos friendly) and put themselves in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and only 3 points of first. The team has been playing well, despite the ugly 4-2 loss to DC, and the new acquisitions have been working together great so far. As shown in the game Wednesday, the primary attacking foursome of Macdonald, Rolfe, Fernandez, and Nyarko looked were having fun out there and connecting passing combinations that we haven't seen for sometime from this team. Overall in the month that I had missed we look like we are over that midseason slump as well as the chance to make the playoffs after missing out the past couple seasons.
The next 3 games that the Fire play should be an indication of the team's strengths and weaknesses and should be able to tell us fans where in the Eastern Conference. First up on Saturday we have the the Impact coming to town. Now this Montreal team is very different from the one that we had tied earlier this season, but on the other hand so is the Fire. Montreal look to have added depth that has made their defense stronger, their midfield has been good, and the addition of Di Vaio up top has helped them start to produce on a more consistent basis. A week later the Crew come to town and their additions also up top have been tearing up opposing defenses. Higuain and Arrieta have been providing that offensive spark that they have been missing and shouldn't be taken lightly. To finish up the month we travel to Kansas City to face SKC in a game that couldn't potentially see the top 2 teams in the east battling it out.
Now with these games the Fire should go in with the mentality that they are must win games. All 3 teams that they face are still in the playoff race and all 3 games could determine where the Fire finish in terms of playoff positioning or dare I say not make the playoffs(mathematically it still could happen but chances are not likely). If Chicago is able to win the next 3 games it would solidify a playoff spot as well as a chance to finish 1st in the east and a chance at the Supporters Shield, which is something this team has not been mentioned in the same breath with for some time now. We will have to see how the team plays starting with Saturday night. I'm hoping for the best that we have a good finish to the month but if we don't there is still October. I will have more after this weekend and in the future.
The last game I mentioned was way back when the Fire travelled to Philly to take on the Union on August 12th. Since then here are the results that I have missed writing about: 2-1 home win vs. the Revs, 4-2 away loss vs. DC, 3-1 home win vs. Houston, 2-2 home draw vs. Santos Laguna(friendly), and then a 2-1 away win vs. TFC on Wednesday. So in that stretch the Fire were able to go 3-1-1(including the Santos friendly) and put themselves in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and only 3 points of first. The team has been playing well, despite the ugly 4-2 loss to DC, and the new acquisitions have been working together great so far. As shown in the game Wednesday, the primary attacking foursome of Macdonald, Rolfe, Fernandez, and Nyarko looked were having fun out there and connecting passing combinations that we haven't seen for sometime from this team. Overall in the month that I had missed we look like we are over that midseason slump as well as the chance to make the playoffs after missing out the past couple seasons.
The next 3 games that the Fire play should be an indication of the team's strengths and weaknesses and should be able to tell us fans where in the Eastern Conference. First up on Saturday we have the the Impact coming to town. Now this Montreal team is very different from the one that we had tied earlier this season, but on the other hand so is the Fire. Montreal look to have added depth that has made their defense stronger, their midfield has been good, and the addition of Di Vaio up top has helped them start to produce on a more consistent basis. A week later the Crew come to town and their additions also up top have been tearing up opposing defenses. Higuain and Arrieta have been providing that offensive spark that they have been missing and shouldn't be taken lightly. To finish up the month we travel to Kansas City to face SKC in a game that couldn't potentially see the top 2 teams in the east battling it out.
Now with these games the Fire should go in with the mentality that they are must win games. All 3 teams that they face are still in the playoff race and all 3 games could determine where the Fire finish in terms of playoff positioning or dare I say not make the playoffs(mathematically it still could happen but chances are not likely). If Chicago is able to win the next 3 games it would solidify a playoff spot as well as a chance to finish 1st in the east and a chance at the Supporters Shield, which is something this team has not been mentioned in the same breath with for some time now. We will have to see how the team plays starting with Saturday night. I'm hoping for the best that we have a good finish to the month but if we don't there is still October. I will have more after this weekend and in the future.
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