The Fire want Brian McBride, Brian McBride wants to play in Chicago, and Toronto wants a tasty young treat in return for his allocation rights. It's believed they want a talented forward.
And one of the Fire's talented young forwards is out of contract at the end of the year, the same one who surprisingly started on the bench last game. His name is Chris Rolfe, and an MLS source told Backdraft that "Rolfe’s name is coming up often in conversations [about McBride], because he will be out of contract after this season and is asking for a hefty pay increase to resign."
Posted by: Mike Fotopoulos in OpEd on
Jun 29, 2008
The views and opinions expressed in this article reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Section 8 Chicago NFP.
As I wake up bleary eyed and sober, I regret the error of my condition that left me unable to become blind drunk or wrapped in the blissfully ignorant cocoon of some other equally enjoyable vice during last night's match. Had I been able to enjoy more than a thimble full of alcohol, maybe I would have been able to better to participate in the fantasy camp that when on for 90 minutes at Toyota Park.
Posted by: Tom Dunmore in Games on
Jun 27, 2008
Chaos! Catastrophe! And a collective vendetta against one of our best players this season thus far.
Such has been the general Fire fan reaction to the recent slide in form, which has seen us drop three of our last four games, with a suddenly anemic offense particularly enraging those who seem to think that despite MLS' undoubted parity, the Fire ought to be immune from the mini-slumps in form every team goes through.
In particular, the criticism roundly heaped upon Chad Barrett following the last game -- where he did botch one easy chance, before missing a far harder angled shot -- has been as pointless as it has been predictable. He deserves criticism, but so do many other players from that disappointing loss to the Fake Goats.
Posted by: Tom Dunmore in Chicago Fire Academy on
Jun 25, 2008
Backdraft was there last night to watch as the Chicago Fire Academy's U-16 took on local elite youth soccer club the Chicago Magic in a crucial top of the table encounter. Read on as we explore the future of the Fire.
Posted by: Benjamin Kumming in Untagged on
Jun 20, 2008
Rather than wade through the misery of the Fire’s dismal showing at Chivas USA last night, I’ll leave the game recap to someone else and focus on some (kind of) constructive criticisms. The Fire’s recent skid has been called Denis Hamlett’s first test as head coach. How the Hammer addresses the problems made clear last night will be the real indicator of his perception and innovation and, ultimately, give verdict on his first term at the helm of the Chicago Fire.
Posted by: Benjamin Kumming in Untagged on
Jun 19, 2008
The group stage of Euro 2008 is over. The separating of wheat from chaff and the chaos of culling the weak has subsided. In the dust lie the bodies of 8 teams, their identities surprising. World Cup Runners-Up, FIFA’s 6th highest ranked team, and another two in the top ten. Limping away from the fray, barely escaping with their lives, are the World Cup Champions and the early competition favorites. Those who have excelled in the first stage of play are young teams with innovative coaches and creative, youthful styles of play. The old, it seems, have fallen with the weak and sick.
Posted by: Irish Steve in Untagged on
Jun 19, 2008
The Fire come into Thursday nights’ match against Chivas on the back of two straight losses in the league. Chivas have also lost their last two in the league and both clubs will be trying desperately not to lose three on the trot.
Posted by: Marty Groark in Games on
Jun 11, 2008
On Tuesday June 10th, the Fire traveled 3 hours south of Chicago to Bradley University in Peoria, IL where they met the Columbus Crew in a play-in game to the 2008 U.S. Open Cup. With a record crowd arriving on a warm, early evening at Bradley's Shea Stadium, the Fire took to the field looking like a team with something to prove after an embarrassing first round knockout in last year's Open Cup to the USL-1's Carolina Railhawks. Fielding a team with many underused players, Denis Hamlett seemed to want to use this game to further develop and blend his 2nd stringers and the players returning from injury.
Posted by: Ben in Untagged on
Jun 03, 2008
In case you haven't heard, the name of the Chicago's Women's Professional Soccer team was officially announced yesterday. And as the advisory fan poll indicated they might do, the team has been named the Chicago Red Stars.
Posted by: Tom Dunmore in Untagged on
Jun 02, 2008
When Andell Holdings, led by Chairman and CEO Andrew Hauptman, purchased the right to operate the Chicago Fire in 2007, they were not buying a blank slate. They were buying a team with a distinct tradition. It is an organization that honors this with its Ring of Fire, whose inductees represent those who have contributed significantly to the passion that defines the Fire community.
In the Ring of Fire are former President and GM Peter Wilt, former manager Bob Bradley, and former star players Lubos Kubik, Frank Klopas and Piotr Nowak. Fittingly, it has always been up to the inductees to select new members of the Ring of Fire, giving the club a red thread running through it that links it from its origin to the present. This is unique in American soccer.
This year, they chose to put in the Ring of Fire two supporters who tragically died within the past eighteen months, Dan Parry and Brandon Kitchens. Both represented everything that the Chicago Fire has stood for over the past decade, and in their own ways, each contributed much to that tradition.
