So this could be our starting 11 next week. Cleveland Polster Kappelhof Dean Vincent McCarty Tchani Katai Schweinsteiger Bakero Nikolic
Somebody has to and is the only player with the skill to do it. Maybe he can be an immobile pivot ala Carlos Valderrama and play until he is 40. He could grow his hair out in curls.
This is probably the only way Niko would get good service to score double digit goals this season. If Basti is not the #10, I would place the over/under at 6 or 7.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...o-still-searching-no-10-interested-lee-nguyen BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The Chicago Fire are still actively searching for a new No. 10, but no signings are imminent, club president and GM Nelson Rodriguez told reporters last week. The Fire do have a bit of extra time to get signings over the line before they start their season, as they won’t open the 2018 campaign until Week 2 on March 10 against Sporting KC, one week after most other MLS teams kick off. The extra seven days give Chicago a bit of leeway, but they don’t change the fact that the Fire feel that the roster isn’t yet whole. “The roster’s incomplete, as it has been,” Rodriguez said. “We’re still looking to improve across all the lines, we’re still involved in conversations both inside and outside the league. Can’t say that anything is imminent, but we’ll keep working until we get the group assembled that we think will be the best one to give us a chance at a championship.” Several injuries have left Chicago particularly thin in a few areas, including at attacking midfield. The Fire will be without midfielders Michael de Leeuw and Djordje Mihailovic for several months due to ACL tears suffered late last year and traded star winger David Accam to Philadelphia at the SuperDraft in January. Chicago signed Serbian attacker Aleksandar Katai on loan from La Liga club Alaves to replace Accam, but they could end up starting a rookie midfielder on opening day – either attacker Jon Bakero or holder Mo Adams, who could slot in if Bastian Schweinsteiger moves into a higher role – if they don’t soon move for a No. 10. Rodriguez didn’t name any of Chicago’s targets, but sources confirmed to MLSsoccer.com that the Fire remain interested in New England Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen. Nguyen asked New England for a trade earlier this offseason and held out of the start of training camp before re-joining the Revs earlier this month. New England have said that they won’t trade Nguyen. “We’re still looking for a No. 10, and suggestions are welcome,” Rodriguez joked. “We’ve run through a long pipeline of players that we’ve looked at and considered, and for whatever reasons those didn’t come through. So, we rebuild our pipeline and keep looking internally and externally.” Chicago are also a bit under it – at least for the short-term – at goalkeeper and center back. Starting backstop Richard Sanchez's status for the opener is up in the air due to a left elbow injury, leaving the Fire with Stefan Cleveland as the only healthy goalkeeper on their roster. Veteran backup Patrick McLain is also in Chicago’s camp as a trialist. Center back is also a position of concern, with Jonathan Campbell out for the next 6-8 weeks after he suffered a facial fracture Saturday and rookie Homegrown Grant Lillard sidelined for a couple more weeks due to an LCL injury. Johan Kappelhof and Christian Dean are the only healthy center backs currently on the roster, though Schweinsteiger and left back Brandon Vincent can play the position in a pinch. “It heightens urgency,” Rodriguez said of the injuries. “As [head coach Veljko Paunovic] mentioned, it forces us to try to be more resourceful and innovative. There’s a tricky balance there because we have short-term needs.” Chicago’s slow offseason has been a huge change of pace for Fire fans, who saw their club completely overhaul the roster following their last-place finish in 2016 to set the table for a third-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings last year. Rodriguez acknowledged that shift might be causing some anxiety, but he remained steadfast in his belief that Chicago have taken the right approach this winter. “It’s frustrating for fans that we haven’t had as many acquisitions as other team,s but I’m pleased that we’ve remained disciplined in our process and our evaluation,” he said. “We’re willing to walk away from some talent because I don’t think the values match, but we’re willing to stick to our valuations of what players should cost. It’s not to be evasive on the timing, but it is to say when all those factors are right we’ll add players.” I can't believe this asshole still has a job, maybe if we had an owner that cared that wouldn't be the case. Now we are down to a keep that has ZERO games played as our starter next week.
Does anyone remember how many players we cut/dropped after each of the last two seasons? It seems like the last two years we lost about the same we just didn’t replenish with as many or with the quality that we did two seasons ago.
These include midseason moves too, But looks like 2016: 15 in, 16 out 2017: 10 in, 9 out (if you include Schweinsteiger) 2018: 8 in, 13 out
Well, it felt like we had more departures before this season than last but we just didn’t have the resources to restock like we did before 2017.
Niko, Juninho, Dax, and Bastian is also a much more impressive group than Rafael Ramos, Katai, and Tchani. So I think you're right, its not just numbers, but also the level of player being brought in. Barely starters, much less difference makers
I see Femi Janssen isn't in the lineup or the bench for Revs in Philly opener. Maybe they want to get rid of him. He's a good player. Maybe if Chi buy Nguyen together with Janssen it would help.
Do you mean Femi Hollinger-Janzen, the guy who managed to get into 13 games (1 start), 148 minutes, and 0 goals for a crappy New England team last season, after managing to play 273 minutes in 2016? A third round draft pick, who was left exposed in the expansion draft and then sent back to New England. He has managed to play an average of 13 minutes a game in the 32 games (over two seasons) he has played. Yes, he is the answer to all of our roster questions. Next.
I started a new season in FIFA 18 with the updated roster. Katai got injured in the first game, out for two months. I'm pretty sure this is an omen.
I played this season out in Civilization XXXI. It played as The Battle of Isandlwana. Were the Men in Red.
Could be the opposite. Gilberto, Maloney, and Guly Do Prado have been amazing for me in FIFA/FM, but Niko has struggled to find form for me in video games.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...ution-offered-krisztian-nemeth-multiple-teams How long before he's linked to us?