Chicago wrapped up their 2011 campaign a little over a week ago, finishing strong with a win at home against a Columbus Crew squad that, while playoff bound, would see an early exit getting bumped from the playoff picture early at the hands of an equally shaky Colorado Rapids. Chicago’s failure to make the playoffs for the second year in a row, and for just the third time since their inaugural 1998 season, served to both frustrate and motivate the team.
The Fire, who finished the year with a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games, had finally found their stride in the final three months of the season. With the mid-July additions of Pavel Pardo, Sebastian Grazzini, and Dan Gargan, the Fire finally found the pieces they had needed and struggled without for the first half of the year. Pardo and Grazzini’s impact were immediately felt, as both found themselves in the middle of nearly every scoring opportunity the Fire had once they found their fitness and garnered regular minutes. Similarly, Gargan filled a defensive right back position previously held by Rookie of the Year candidate Jalil Anibaba, freeing the young UNC grad to occupy his more comfortable centerback slot next to veteran Cory Gibbs. The addition of Gargan and the shift of Anibaba to his more natural position provided Chicago with a stalwart defense that helped give the team a +10 goal differential in the final three months of the season.
The strong finish to the 2011 season served as motivation for the Fire, who knew they were far better than their .500 record indicated. Having tied with New York Red Bulls with 16 draws on the season (an irony in and of itself), Chicago saw their fair share of misfortune and missed opportunities, any one of which could have been pointed at as the difference between postseason play or not. Nonetheless, the one thing the Fire have going for them as they enter the offseason and look to 2012 is a core group of guys that by all appearances look to be returning when training came cranks up in late January. Still, Chicago has a number of questions on and off the field that need to be addressed before the 2012 campaign gets underway.
Jersey Sponsorship
One thing sorely missed as a key point of revenue during the season was a jersey sponsor. After a three year deal with electronics giant Best Buy ran its course, Chicago found itself with space to rent. The front office has been consistently hushed about any prospects of a jersey sponsor, and Chicago played the entire 2011 season as one of only four teams without sponsorship. This lack of a viable revenue stream seemed to definitely harm the club, especially when one considers that the team played all season with no DP on the roster, but the Fire continue to contend that there are several possible suitors on the horizon. How true this may be will play out sooner rather than later, as rumors continue to circulate that a sponsorship will be secured by First Kick 2012. Time will tell.
Expansion Draft
Speculation started weeks before the final whistle as to who will enter the 2012 Expansion Draft protected. With homegrown and Generation Adidas players safe, Chicago is faced with choosing their eleven by the November 21st deadline ahead of the November 23rd draft day. Former Fire great and current Montreal head coach Jesse Marsch will get one pick from each team, and it’s unclear at this early juncture who he might have an eye on from the Fire. While there are many different lines of thought as to who may make the cut and why, it’s certain that Frank Klopas will do whatever necessary to keep the core group intact that finished off a strong 2011 season. There’s much more to be said here, which I’ll take a closer look at as the November 21st deadline approaches.
(Interim) Head Coach
Frank Klopas, Technical Director-turned-Interim Head Coach, continued to work the first team through training as the offseason began last week for the Fire. There has been virtually no talk of a head coach job search going on in Bridgeview, which, while perhaps not surprising or indicative to some, seems to indicate to others that Klopas may remove the “interim” tag from the front of his name going forward. Anyone in and around Chicago knows that secrets are not well kept in Fire nation (both Pardo and Grazzini were Chicago’s worst kept secrets of the summer), while at other times, no information or unverified information can create its own buzz (as shown by the Marco Pappa-to-Europe scenarios that repeatedly played out during the season, even from yours truly). In his Columbus post-game press conference, Klopas addressed questions about the prospect of coaching the team long-term without actually committing to anything. “I’ll be back somewhere. I don’t know where, exactly,” said Klopas after the Columbus match. “When I stepped in, we said that we’re going to do this until the end of the season and then sit down as an organization when the season is done. In the next couple weeks we’ll sit down and make the best decision going forward for the Fire. I’ve enjoyed every second of my professional job, especially what I’ve done here as interim coach with this group of guys. I’ve always believed in this group.”
Many players have verbalized a desire to see Klopas return as head coach next season. Veterans Cory Gibbs and Logan Pause have been the most vocal proponents of a Klopas’ return, as well as Dominic Oduro, Daniel Paladini, and Patrick Nyarko. While it can be speculated that the guys in the locker room are posturing for the sake of their jobs, there is definitely a different feeling in hearing many of the first team express their desire to see Klopas return. There is a mutual admiration and respect that the team and Klopas share with one another, and it’s evident on both sides.
Furthermore, the accurate assessment has been made by some that bringing in a new manager will essentially be backwards movement for a Fire team that made so much progress in the later months of the 2011 season. A new coach would create a situation of nearly starting over again…again, as the team and potential permanent coach would have to inevitably spend valuable time gelling as a club, time that has already successfully been spent with Frank Klopas at the helm. Personally I believe this to be the strongest case for Klopas to return and take the reins on a permanent basis in 2012, aside from Frank’s connection to the team’s history as a player. Mike Jeffries, Director of Player Personnel, could ably fill Klopas’ shoes as Technical Director, or Klopas could even play a dual front office role, ala Aron Winter, heading up the first team side as both TD and head coach. Time will most certainly tell, and likely sooner rather than later, but I believe when it’s all said and done, we’ll see Frank Klopas as head coach of the Chicago Fire on a permanent basis.
Moving ahead into 2012
Chicago looks to continue making positive strides into 2012. While they have always had a difficult time marketing the team effectively in Chicago because of so many big market sports teams in the Windy City, it should be noted that last year, after an abysmal 2010 season, Chicago broke sales records for new season ticket holders. The organization, with the help of the team’s ISA, Section 8 Chicago, tripled their supporter’s section season ticket figure, and saw exponential growth throughout the rest of the stadium. This year, less than one week into the offseason, the Fire have already brought on 3,000 brand new season ticket holders. Chicago sold out their season finale against Columbus in a year that saw no other sellouts, with their nearest attendance being an April match that saw some 18,000 fans come to see a Beckham-less LA Galaxy. All this in a two-year stretch that saw mass turnover on the field, and no playoffs two seasons in a row.
If Chicago can find the missing pieces needed on and off the field during the next 4 months, we could see a very different, very good 2012 Chicago Fire that could be as dangerous as any club currently dominating the MLS Playoff picture.
Image courtesy of chicago-fire.com
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