Another day, another friendly, another preview package. Today, I sit down with Sean from Hot Time in Old Town for intel on the Chicago Fire. Full preview coming later this morning.
For Club and Country: It seems like the friendlies the Fire have played so far have included a lot of trialists and unsigned draftees. How close are they getting to settling on a roster heading into the regular season, and will we still see some of the unsigned players tomorrow?
Hot Time in Old Town: They are not close, it seems, although not because they intend to be. Injuries have destroyed any hope of the Fire’s top players getting a rhythm together, so the preseason has been a bit-of-this, bit-of-that kind of a thing. It’s virtually guaranteed some unsigned players will get time tomorrow, simply because so few signed Chicago players are likely to be available.
FCAC: What do you expect the approach to be for this game? Do they try to go out and win it, or continue working new personnel/tactics to prepare for the regular season?
HTiOT: I don’t want to poo-poo any outcome here, but the Fire are likely to be completely indifferent to the result. They’ll want to play well, but mostly it will be down to tearing down the film after the fact, regardless of whether they win or lose 4-1.
FCAC: What are the expectations for the MLS season after a pretty good year last year? Rise even higher in the Eastern Conference, drop down a bit, remain static?
HTiOT: Absent further acquisitions, I’m afraid the Fire are likely to fall back a bit in 2018.
FCAC: Who are the players to watch when the teams take the field tomorrow afternoon? Obviously Nemanja Nikolić is well-known, but who else should we watch out for offensively and defensively?
HTiOT: Christian Dean has been the best player for the Fire in preseason. The left-footed centerback looks the part of an elite defender, with the size, strength, pace, and touch to play at almost any level. The questions around Dean mostly have to do with durability, as he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for long enough in his career to see how well he thinks the game. Offensively I’ll be interested to see who creates chances for the Fire. Nikolic isn’t a make-your-own shots kind of a guy, and could struggle unless the team functions to create chances for him.
FCAC: Score prediction? Any other specific predictions?
HTiOT: I’m guessing 2-1 Fire, although not with any conviction.
Many thanks to Sean for answering a few questions. Check out Hot Time in Old Town for your Fire news.
Club and Country 