Since no one else has started it... And the first honor goes to: Fire acquire German star, World Cup champ @BSchweinsteiger from Manchester United https://t.co/wlmsj3lFrk pic.twitter.com/nOn2Tyu68Y— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) March 21, 2017 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...hweinsteiger-chicago-fire-20170321-story.html
I don't really get it. The Fire spent a lot to get McCarty and Juninho. Now they'll feel obligated to all three and someone will be out of position.
Why? Makes zero sense. Paying him 4.5M for the year? Whomever runs Chicago's scouting department should be railroaded out of town. You can get far better on the global market for a fraction the price. “He can produce actions that few players in the world can do,” Paunovic said. “He sees (things) that nobody sees. He opens the eyes of the fans, where you can hear the people say, ‘Wow!’” Good lord.
Old school DP signing. He moves the attendance needle even if his on the field performance isn't significantly better than the player he's replacing.
I'm sure he'll complain because Schweinsteiger isn't a big enough name and is on the wrong side of 30.
Egg Shen: Can see things no one else can see. Do things no one else can do. Jack Burton: Real things? Egg Shen: As real as Lo Pan! Jack Burton: Hey, what more can a guy ask for? Egg Shen: Oh, the six-demon bag! Jack Burton: Terrific, a six-demon bag. Sensational. What's in it, Egg? Egg Shen: Wind, fire, all that kind of thing!
Unless his World-Cup-Winningness has the ability to levitate Toyota Park into a different location that isn't literally the "end of the line", it's not going to move it much.
*shrug* There will likely be a bump for the first couple of games that he starts.. Whether that is sustainable will largely depend on if the team is entertaining and whether the FO doesn't do anything stupid. The latter being the hardest part..
Toronto has signed Jason Hernandez, giving them a 6th CB (Moor, Hagglund, Zavaleta, Aubrey, Brunell) in addition to LB Chis Mavinga who I believe can play there as well.
Depends. If the Fire are sticking with a 4-2-3-1 then he is most likely removing Arturo Alvarez from the field. If they switch over to a 3-5-2 (less likely, but something I think they might consider) then it will push Michael Harrington to the bench. Now he isn't directly replacing either of those two (De Leuuw will take over Alvarez's position and Bastian will play a more like a CAM*, while Harrington would just drop to the bench with his position). I'd argue his performance would be significantly better than either of them. Now if that leads to a better team performance.....whole other question. * While he is more well known for being a CM/DM he has, according to Transfermarkt, played as an AM 67 times in his career. Course he also has played more as a left or right midfielder than an AM, but it is a role he isn't unfamiliar with.
I wasn't saying he wouldn't be better.. I was just noting that his signing is a return to the original use of DP where teams would bring in an older player to move the attendance needle as much, if not more, than improving the overall quality of the team.
I'm not sold on that point though. Yes, he is going to be 33. Yes, he had two knee injuries last year. And, yes, he isn't playing for Man U this year (which could be a plus since it has given his body a break). I feel that a lot of people seem to forget that up until his knee injury last year he was a starter for a top 5 EPL team. If the Fire put him in a position to succeed (don't make him your workhorse in midfield and run him into the ground) he can probably be one of the better CAMs in the league. He'll be one of the better passers in the league and you can use his defensive ability to try and create turnovers higher up the field. People are acting like he is a Gerrard or Lampard signing but he is 5 years younger than they were. Plus it is only a year long contract. If he really can't recover from the injuries then you lose little. If he is fully healed you have a potentially top 5 or 10 player in the league. I won't belabor this point anymore though. I can see how people think he is a washed up signing that is just there to move a needle in the local market. I think that he has got real potential and people are writing him off because he was benched by Jose. I will say he certainly is no Almiron, Lodeiro, Giovinco, or Blanco type signing and I know that disappoints people.
My question is, does Schweinie still have the motivation to play? Injuries aside, fitness and work ethic has been a question for him last few years. He's won pretty much everything so winning trophies... eh. Does he want to compete hard in MLS or just coast?
Well said. I agree with all of this, including the risk assessment. Plus, the Fire signed him for a relative song, considering his current salary and the salaries of Gerrard, Lampard, Pirlo, Kaka, and other 30+ midfielders from top European leagues signing with MLS. If he is healthy, we could have a top 5 or 10 player for the next three or four years. He is the 8th highest paid player (we suspect) and would be the fourth youngest, younger than Pirlo, Kaka, Villa or Dempsey. He would not have made the top 10 last year. THAT, sir, is a very good question. The only downside is we look like idiots (still) if it does not work out. Of course, the Fire are idiots and have been for the better part of a decade, so that is not such a bad thing.
George John was a great player, does anyone have any news of him? He retired ? Will Packwood, A.J. Soares, Zak Whitbread and Jack McInerney are good players and are agents free, any professional US soccer team will hire them?
Honestly, I don't know what to expect out of Schweinsteiger. He just hasn't played enough lately. If Chicago gets a pretty healthy, out to prove something player, he'll be one of the best players in the league. But he should have come two years ago, when Beckenbauer told him to.