In Hamlett We Trust (In Defence of Denis Hamlett)
By: irish_steve |
2 Comments
After going unbeaten in their first 10 games of the season, a team record, the Chicago Fire have lost their last 3 league games in a row. In response, many Chicago Fire fans have started calling for coach Denis Hamlett to be fired. In response to those fans who want Denis to be fired I have 3 arguments in his defence:
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Category: Team News
Fire vs Houston - 9 Match Facts - 1 Prediction
By: irish_steve | Add Comments
1.The Fire will be missing Segares, Blanco, and Soumare for the match tonight.
Houston will be missing Brain Ching, and Ricardo Clark.
2. Houston have won 5 of their last 6 games, with the other game being a tie.
The Fire have won 3 of their last 6 with 2 ties and 1 loss.
3. The Fire are the top scoring team in the MLS with 20 goals.
Houston are the top defense in the MLS giving up only 7 goals.
4. The Fire have won only 1 game at home this season.
Houston have won only 1 game on the road this season.
5. The Fire have never beaten Houston at Toyota Park, losing 2 and tying 1.
Houston hasn’t lost this season when they have scored first.
6. Last season, Houston beat the Fire 2-1 in Toyota Park.
The score was the same in Houston, with the Houston coming from a goal down at home to win.
7. The Fire have played 3 of their last 4 games away from home.
Houston have played 3 of their last 4 games at home.
Same Old Fire, Never Losing!!
By: irish_steve | 2 Comments
Please excuse my absence over the past few weeks. I was away for both of the Fire’s most recent road victories against Toronto and New York. Both trips were a blast (road trips are ALWAYS better when you come home with 3 points). Before the last 2 away matches, I complained that the Fire play playing extremely well but not kill off teams. This was not the case in Toronto or New York where they Fire played poorly for long stretches of both games but still managed to pick up 6 points.
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Different Week, Same Result
By: irish_steve | 4 Comments
To be honest, I dont really want to write about the Fire vs Revs game. Quite frankly, I am getting sick of writing the same thing week in week out. So instead, I want to pose a question for all the Fire fans out there: What do we have to do to get a win? Your answers can be funny, serious or a bit of both!
Category: Team NewsChicago Fire - The New Liverpool
By: irish_steve | 5 Comments
It’s taken me almost a week to write about last weekend’s game. One of my friends summed it up well when he said it was the worst he has felt after watching a home game in a long time. As we sat, dejected in the parking lot, a group of my friends and I came to the conclusion that the Fire are the MLS equivalent of Liverpool.
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Category: Team NewsBlanco, Ref’s, Columbus, and Club America
By: irish_steve | Add Comments
After the Fire’s brilliant comeback in Columbus Saturday, news of some strange goings on with Blanco and referee Jair Marrufo.
Both Blanco and the ref were under investigation due to the fact that Marrufo accepted a signed jersey from Blanco in the locker room after the game. We all know that it is against the rule for ref’s to accept gifts and this morning US Soccer decided to take action, dropping Marrufo from this weeks round of MLS matches.
Last night, the Fire suffered a 2-1 loss at home against Club America in a friendly. Yet again, individual defensive errors cost the Fire dearly, with Logan Pause and Nick Noble were the culprits. Blanco did little to help the Fire and looked like he was trying too hard to make an impact, further evidence that he cant hack it at this level for 90 minutes. Chris Rolfe looked like he had a point to prove and played harder than anyone on the field. He missed a lot of chances but managed to put 1 away. Stefan Dimitrov had some very nice touches including a brilliant assist for the Fire’s lone goal.
In league play the Fire are the only unbeaten team in the MLS, have scored more than any other team and boast the leagues top goalscorer, Brian McBride. On the other side of the coin, the Fire have tied their last 4 games, and have given up 9 goals in 6 games so far this season as opposed to only giving up 3 goals in the first 6 games of last season.
What do you think of the Fire’s season so far? Should we be happy or dissappointed? Share your thoughts below!
Columbus Here I Come!
By: irish_steve | Add Comments
Its 5:30am Chicago time and very soon I will be boarding 1 of 3 busses bound for Columbus, Ohio for my first and the Fire’s fourth away game of the new MLS season. This will be the first time the Fire and I have been back to Columbus since last season’s Eastern Conference Final, which brings about terrible memories for Fire fans and players alike. The Fire promised that this season things would be different, and so far, they are correct. The Fire are unbeaten this season, with 2 wins and 3 ties. Columbus on the other hand, are winless in their 5 games to date.
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At Look Back..
By: irish_steve | Add Comments
After 70 minutes, the Fire were cruising against KC, dominating in all areas of the field and comfortably holding a 2-0 lead. Blanco even had the time to entertain the crowd with his trademark bunny hop. Brian McBride scored 2 great goals, capitalizing on a KC mistake for the first one, and rising to head home a trademark header to complete a brilliant first half.
The second half started off well, but the killer third goal never hit the net. After the 70th minute, all hell broke loose. The Fire dropped way too deep and looked tired. Subs were not made in time and all of a sudden, the stadium got really quiet and the scoreboard read 2-2. Does this sound familiar? It should because this was the Fire’s problem at home last season. Giving up late goals and dropping too many points. If the Fire really want to play in the MLS Cup this season, Toyota Park needs to become a fortress. It all looked fine and dandy after the 1-0 win over New York, but this draw (which feels much more like a loss) has taken the shine off the start of the season.
If you look at the positives, Blanco played his best game for the Fire, McBride has continued his great start to the season and the Fire are still unbeaten and top of the East.
If you look at the negatives, only 10,000 were at Toyota Park on Saturday night, the Fire have 5 goals in their last 2 games, and we now have to the difficult task of trying to pick ourselves up before going to Columbus this weekend.
Category: Team NewsFire Preview: KC At Home
By: irish_steve | 1 Comment
The Fire go into this game as 1 of the only 2 undefeated teams in the Eastern Conference on the back of a 3-3 draw against San Jose in sunny California. The Fire welcome back Wilman Conde and Johnny “Hot Rod” Thorrington from injury and suspension respectively. Both men’s presences were missed in San Jose where defensive mistakes resulted in the Fire giving up 3 goals in a game for the first time since October of 2008 against Toronto. Last season the Fire tied 2 and lost 1 against KC. Last season’s game in Chicago almost exactly a year ago resulted in a 1 nil win for KC.
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Category: Match PreviewIm Back! With Links!!
By: irish_steve | Add Comments
Hi Fire fans. Sorry for the hiatus, I had some visitors from Ireland who kept me busy over the past 10 days or so. I have a few Fire links for you to enjoy. Look out for my Fire vs KC preview tomorrow!
Can the Fire get 60 points this season? At least 1 Fire fan thinks so!
Read a great question and answer with Bakay here.
Young Fire player Alberto Lopez wins the 2009 Sueno MLS Award.
A nice piece on Bakary Soumare’s decision to play for Mali.
And finally, view all of the Fire’s goals this season here.
Category: Team News
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