The Fire stood at the top of the league at the end of week 3 in MLS, though it was a fortunate win in Oakland, the expansion Earthquakes striking the woodwork twice and missing an open goal in the dying minutes. A better performance will be needed against a stronger Wizards team.
It's good that the Fire have depth at the back this season. Both Brandon Prideaux (who injured himself in the pre-game warm-up last week) and Diego Guttierrez are listed as doubtful on the injury report, but there should be little to fear with Conde and Robinson set to have stronger performances with one game now under their belts.
Conde played most of the second half against UIC on Wednesday, and looked in excellent shape, intimidating enough to make one feel sorry for the college kids he was bullying around. The Colombian may have annoyed teammates and fans with his offseason demand for a trade, but with it seems all sides have now realized that it's better for Conde to be playing than not. It looks as if CJ Brown is still not ready to return from an apparently mysterious hip injury, so the Fire may be unchanged there from San Jose.
With the departure of President and GM John Guppy last week added to all the turmoil of the past year, Backdraft's writers decided to get together and talk about where the Fire stands now.
Here are their answers to five key questions regarding Guppy's departure, what it tells us about Andrew Hauptman, what qualities the next GM should have, and whether the Fire are in capable hands with Javier Leon stewarding the ship in the meantime.
Posted by: Irish Steve in Untagged on
Apr 15, 2008
There's always more to the story with Section 8 On Tour. Road warrior, Irish Steve, brings his account of the Fire's 1-0 win at San Jose to Backdraft.
The trip began early on Saturday morning, five members of Section 8 boarding a plane bound for Oakland. The plane was due to land 2 hours before kickoff, so we were glad to take off on time without any mishaps. The Herr had already finished 1 beer before we got on the plane, and before we had hit 10,000 feet he had finished another one, much to our amusement (Tom Dunmore, Andy Braudy, Joliet Jerry and myself) as well as our air hostess who The Herr called “waitress” throughout the whole flight. Most of the talk on the plane surfaced around the Guppy situation, but after 4 or 5 beers, Tom, myself, and the Herr caught up on some sleep. To our delight, the plane landed 20 minutes early, and we caught a cab to the Oakland Coliseum.
Immediately after John Guppy parted ways from the Fire last Friday, speculation began that his replacement might be Peter Wilt, who exactly three years earlier had been fired by then-owners AEG from the same position, to the deep disappointment of most Fire supporters (as illustrated by the subsequent supporters' protest).
After a weekend in which Backdraft spent considerable time in the company of Wilt at the Fire game in Oakland and as the dust settles on Guppy's departure, it's time to provide an update on the prospect of Wilt returning to the Fire organization.
From the desk of Backdraft contributor Michael Giacometti comes this week's post-match analysis:
San Jose really looked more composed than expected from the first whistle. It looked as though they had really been working together for a while and that the players seemed to gel--although, this isn't a surprise given the total amount of talent and experience they have on their side. Their match with LA gave some notion of how this match should have played out--but I was planning on refraining from all type of commentary of the kind and simply letting the final scoreline give a more accurate appraisal of the match.
That being said, 3 points is 3 points, and the takeaways from this match were far more important than those of the 4-0 win over NE the previous week. The Fire could have simply said job well done and moved on to prepare for the trip to San Jose--however, that isn't always the case. The team has comfortable defensive depth to continue our good fortune of clean sheets. But to anyone who watched the match, it can be said that the record was truly and well in danger of being trampled on. This win was hard fought and not the prettiest; but again, I'll take the 3 points, and hope the lessons learned are managed by coach Hammer this week in practice.
In the past year, the Fire have had two different owners, three different head coaches, and now the club will soon have a new GM and President as well.
The Chicago Fire announced today that they had parted ways with John Guppy, who replaced Peter Wilt in 2005.
Backdraft wants to know what you thought of Guppy's time with the Fire, and who you'd like to see as a replacement.
Optimism has come full circle following last Thursday's opener with the Revolution. Now, the Fire head West to take on the expansion Earthquakes brimming with confindence on the offensive end. Coach Hamlett has already said several times that he will start the attackers with the best chemistry, but after last game's display, its hard to deny that the current squad is firing on all cylinders. We have to think that the same lineup will be sent out up top, with Frankowski and Barrett getting service from Mapp, Blanco, and Rolfe. The ability to slice and dice is there, as the Quakes defense struggled in their opener against the Galaxy.
In defense, injuries and recovery times are working hand in hand to make almost the entire back line a series of question marks. Daniel Woolard? At this point we wouldn't be all that surprised. However, considering the recent reserve matches, Dasan Robinson's return or even a Wilman Conde sighting could be in the cards. CJ Brown resumed full training this Monday, but is still doubtful to see much playing time considering how other rehabs have gone this season. Brandon Prideaux has also given the backline some quality depth. Ahead of them is the reliable Logan Pause, doing whatever it is Logan Pause does, and lately that has been whatever it takes to hold the defensive midfield.
In net, Jon Busch brings experience, communication, and fire to the defense, already winning over his fair share of fans this season.
More on the opposition and injuries after the jump...
Revolution supporters are still, would you believe it, complaining about Jeff Larentowicz's di smissal in the seventh minute of last week's Fire home opener. Egged on by Steve Nicol, who as Backdraft reported claimed the Revolution were "playing against the referee", they seem to think that the decision was both wholly unjust and changed the course of the match. We can prove otherwise.
Backdraft is written by Fire supporters for Fire supporters. Thanks to access provided by Section 8 Chicago, Backdraft is able to provide an original stream of news, interviews and views on the Chicago Fire soccer club.
If you're interested in contributing to Backdraft, please email communications at section8chicago.com
Backdraft 
The Fire XI
There's always more to the story with Section 8 On Tour. Road warrior, Irish Steve, brings his account of the Fire's 1-0 win at San Jose to Backdraft.
Immediately after John Guppy parted ways from the Fire last Friday, speculation began that his replacement might be Peter Wilt, who exactly three years earlier had been fired by then-owners AEG from the same position, to the deep disappointment of most Fire supporters (as illustrated by the 
In the past year, the Fire have had two different owners, three different head coaches, and now the club will soon have a new GM and President as well. 
The Fire XI
