Pre-Match, PBP, Post-Match - Chicago Fire Host Union Omaha USOC Tuesday, April 19 7PM @ SF

Wow. Two fine goals by Omaha...two pk (generic goals) by Fire though deserved fouls awarded them. I agree with others here that frankly we looked more dangerous (to Omaha) in the first half. Our subs did not do much. Espinoza took a step backward today as far as I am concerned and most of our youth looked like...well...youth nowhere near ready to contribute to even the bench. Guti seemed to show better especially early. Aaaaand...Kascper missed his pk....le sigh.

 

lots of fingers to be pointed but this roster is just not good beyond the top handful

impressive that we’ve only dropped one game so far, but we need some talent and depth bad

 

yeah, I thought Espinoza played better than he had before against LA but tonight he was awful

 

Joe should be embarrassed, unfortunately.

 

We almost literally have no one else.
Duran? No
Offor? No
Who else?

I think Przbylko will be okay with a bit of service.
I am more worried about our lack of attacking options out of the midfield.

 

Unacceptable!

 

I mean, there's a deathwatch thread already, isn't there?

The hope is he learns from this - it is tough as a fan to see the team hype up the 'we want the cup talk' and then see him treat this as an exhibition for the duration of full time, especially after the team lost their considerable bite from the first half. We'll see, I guess.

 

I thought about looking it up before I posted...

Exactly.

 

I wish we would take the open cup at least half seriously.

 

I really liked the US Open Cup back in the day.

 

I remember when the Fire would win Open Cups. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

 

Joe should be embarrassed, unfortunately.

 

Oh, we don't have anyone currently that I think would do it, but his play screams "he needs a change of location." From how good he was in Philly to how unnoticeable he is now seems to be a large difference. Sometimes a player just doesn't gel with their surroundings.

 

I remember when the Fire traded for Joel Lindpere and there were some people that said it was a "great trade", "already knew the league", "will provide plenty of offense for the Fire". Well even though he was good in New Jersey didn't translate here. Seems like this is just another one of those situations.

 

Yes, and his surroundings are rather lacking.

We have no attacking options, other than Shaqiri.

We have no wing play.
Ivanov is not good.
Herbers is a statue.
Brian G is not much yet.

We need two players at minimum of the level of Frankowski, Luka, Djordie, Katai, Medran, Aliseda, etc. for this team to have a chance.
Preferably, better than any of them, but at least their level.

Maybe Torres will be one of those players when he arrives next month.

 

Brutal. Ezra's first major misstep and, boy, it was a doozy.

 

It's something I've noticed in Fire 2 games and mentioned a few times, but the big thing about Duran is that he gets frustrated way too easily. The moment he misses a shot, he's done for the day. He hasn't hit a rhythm yet and he's not gonna find one if he doesn't calm down. I still believe in him, but he needs a mentor or something.

 

I hope you still believe in him.
He is barely 18 and has a handful of professional matches.

He is still extremely raw.

 

kind of an Inverse Djordje.

 

My comment was intended as a joke. I was not "firing" on Ezra, nor do I think "firing" Ezra would be prudent at this point.

I highly doubt the line-up was "picked by higher-ups," unless you mean the decision to have a paper thin team, with almost no attacking options (other than Shaqiri, Ivanov and Kascper) means that Ezra had little choice to pick "four players [who] made their professional first team debuts" as part of the team, as we have almost nobody else at this point.

if that was your point, I agree, but I think you were being more literal than that.

 

Because the open cup isn't really that important. If it was, the starters would've been out there. That or they overestimate fire II (who have been struggling)

 

They took Omaha way too lightly and it backfired, bigly. Yeah, league games are more important. Highly doubt the lineup was dictated by others (IBIWISI). As to an explanation, +infinity. Not holding my breath.

 

1. Not too many coaches would let the front office pick their starting lineup. We ain’t the Dallas Cowboys.
2. My gripe, and what I’m seeing in other Fire circles, isn’t with the starting lineup choices, it’s with sticking with almost all of them until the 89th minute despite the fact that they fell flat after an unexpectedly dominant first half. Ezra was essentially playing for Extra Time from the minute Omaha drew even, instead using the next sub window to bring in the reinforcements in an attempt to wrap it up in regulation.
3. While people are ‘firing on’ Ezra, no serious person is calling for his firing. Assuming you weren’t implying that but the word choice is a tad confusing. Ezra’s going to be a really good coach and if we’re lucky, he’ll be with us a long time.
4. The most frustrating thing is he isn’t some coach from overseas with no context as to the importance of this tournament for us, he’s played it in himself and knows the team’s history of success in it. Would’ve been great if his decisions reflected that as game wore on.