Everyone, naturally, has his or her own opinion on what’s wrong with the Fire. Some blame a mysterious “mid-summer slump,” citing a similar run of poor form in June and July of last year. Others say the dressing room has been lost, and the players aren’t motivated and focused. Maybe the attacking players are unable to concentrate, knowing their futures are on the line for the impending McBride transaction. The one person who doesn’t seem to have a constructive idea for improving the team is, unfortunately, head coach, Denis Hamlet. The confounding part is that he used to.

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Irish Steve and Flanagan analyze why the Fire have started out so hot, and explain the importance of Chad Barrett to that success.

You know it’s neither the beer nor the whiskey, nor the fact you decided to start standing in 117 instead of 118, so why are you finding it hard to recognize the Fire this season? Two words: Denis Hamlet.

After ten years of standing in the bench’s background, Hamlet is already proving he was the right choice to replace that short guy with the notepad who left for New Jersey, or wherever. However, this isn’t just an article about our manager. This is for all of us who have and haven’t been paying attention to exactly how Hamlet’s strategic and motivational tactics are solidifying us as a team to be feared.

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MLS.net has an interesting report on a media Q & A with Fire owner Andrew Hauptman that took place "in a private room at a fancy Chicago restaurant." Backdraft was not invited to the event, but we can still glean some insight into the mind of the most important person for the future of the Fire from the article.

It is reassuring to read that he respects the club's past, explaining he sat down with Bob Bradley, Peter Nowak and Frank Klopas to learn about the Fire's traditions. "It all goes back to ensuring we give enough respect to that history," Hauptman said.

It's also encouraging that Hauptman realises the Fire's principal aim should be to make soccer fans in Chicago fans of the Fire, rather than coverting Joe Public into a soccer fan. "We have a huge amount of work to bring in those people who do know about soccer," Hauptman said.

Hopefully we will get to know our owner better over the coming season, but these are encouraging signs.

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The Fire salvaged a point in the 92nd minute of the season opener thanks to a fine strike by Blanco, after Real Salt Lake had taken the lead twenty minutes earlier. We'll have a full wrap-up of the game later, but for now, you can watch the highlights at the MLS site and consider the varied reaction to the game below:

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When the Fire begin the 2008 season at RSL's Rice-Eccles Stadium this Saturday, they will face a Salt Lake team that has also seen its fair share of turnover this offseason.

Get to know the first opponents of the new year as we take a look at Jason Kreis' new roster and how it could fare this weekend.

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The latest in the irishoutsider series of MLS Previews is exclusively on Section8Chicago.com.

 

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The Fire today announced a new television deal that will see them broadcast a record 18 games on My50 Chicago WPWR-TV. Good news for the team locally, but long-time announcer Kenn Tomasch will not be part of the commentary team this season. Fred Huebner will be the play-by-play man and he'll be joined by Chris Doran as color analyst. So what happened to Tomasch?

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