D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire FC | Full Match Highlights | May 25, 2024 A strong showing from our Men in Red tonight leads to a draw‼️ Onto the next 💪#cf97 | #DCvsCHI⚫️ [1 – 1] ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/TNYM2EZ2kH— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) May 26, 2024 Match Stats quick And that's a wrap in the Nation's Capital 🫡#cf97 | #DCvsCHI⚫️ [1 – 1] ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Zdu4I9rnX8— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) May 26, 2024 Chicago Fire FC dawt com: Match Recap 1-1 draw against DC United https://www.chicagofirefc.com/news/...with-1-1-tie-against-d-c-united-at-audi-field Kellyn Acosta Postgame Reaction: https://www.chicagofirefc.com/video...stgame-reaction-with-midfielder-kellyn-acosta Frank Klopas Postgame Reaction https://www.chicagofirefc.com/video...ostgame-reaction-with-head-coach-frank-klopas MIR '97: Xherdan Shaqiri not with Fire for D.C. United match https://meninred97.com/xherdan-shaqiri-not-with-fire-for-d-c-united-match/ MIR '97: Filibustered: D.C. United 1, Chicago Fire 1 https://meninred97.com/d-c-united-1-chicago-fire-1/ Field Level Media: Fire, D.C. United end losing streaks in 1-1 draw https://fieldlevelmedia.com/mls/fire-d-c-united-end-losing-streaks-in-1-1-draw/ Chicago Sun Times: Fire need owner Joe Mansueto to go against track record and act quickly (From yesterday) https://chicago.suntimes.com/fire/2...to-to-go-against-track-record-and-act-quickly --------------------------------------------- Non Fire News ---------------------------------------------- All Footy games on TV today: https://firsttouchonline.com/soccer-tv/ Chicago Red Stars vs Racing Louisville HIGHLIGHTS On Tap Sports: Red Stars Home Woes Continue, Lose 1-0 to Racing Louisville https://ontapsportsnet.com/red-stars/red-stars-home-woes-continue-lose-1-0-to-racing-louisville ESPN: UWCL final: Alexia Putellas shows she's 'queen of Barcelona' https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...al-alexia-putellas-shows-shes-queen-barcelona Pro Soccer Wire: Aitana, Alexia both strike as Barcelona claims third Women's Champions League crown https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2024/05/25/uwcl-barcelona-lyon-aitana-alexia-goal-highlights/ World Soccer Talk: Teen tandem helps Man Utd stun Man City in FA Cup final https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/teen-tandem-helps-man-utd-stun-man-city-in-fa-cup-final/ Sporting News: FA Cup prize money: What do Man United win after securing 2024 English domestic cup title? https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soc...do-winners-make-2024/32ed33fd499b8c3bef958c26 World Soccer Talk: US Open Cup final stages to air for free on MLS Season Pass https://worldsoccertalk.com/tv/us-open-cup-final-stages-to-air-for-free-on-mls-season-pass/ SBI Soccer: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic capture Scottish Cup to seal domestic double https://sbisoccer.com/2024/05/camer...-capture-scottish-cup-to-seal-domestic-double Pro Soccer Wire: Pulisic wraps career-best season with AC Milan assist in Salernitana draw https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/...-ac-milan-salernitana-usmnt-video-highlights/ The Guardian UK: ‘Robbed tonight by a bad referee’: Harry Kewell’s ACL dream crushed (Asian Champions League) https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...a-bad-referee-harry-kewells-acl-dream-crushed ESPN: Real Madrid honour Toni Kroos in tearful Bernabeu farewell https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40218615/toni-kroos-real-madrid-bernabeu-farewell-last-game ESPN: Vincent Kompany set for Bayern Munich as deal agreed - source https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40215250/bayern-burnley-agree-10m-deal-vincent-kompany-source
I somehow got inside the layers of the onion despite not having a Chicago Sun Times subscription. Copy/pasted this for Fire fans. Brian Sandalow is obviously correct. Fire need owner Joe Mansueto to go against track record and act quickly Mansueto has been slow to make moves since taking over the Fire, and it’s hurt the club. By Brian Sandalow May 25, 2024, 8:00am CDT Mayor Lori Lightfoot looks on as Chicago Fire Owner and Chairman Joe Mansueto speaks during a press conference to announce the Fire will be returning to Soldier Field beginning with the 2020 season, Tuesday morning, Oct. 8, 2019. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times There was legitimate optimism around the Fire in the fall of 2019. Unpopular owner Andrew Hauptman was out, ambitious billionaire Joe Mansueto had taken over and a beleaguered fan base was dreaming about the Fire’s next era. But what happened in the months after Mansueto’s purchase helps to explain why the Fire (2-8-4, 10 points) are where they are now: near the bottom of the MLS standings. On Oct. 14, 2019, then-president Nelson Rodriguez said the Fire were looking to hire an executive to oversee the first team. The new boss would shepherd the Fire through a critical offseason. Bastian Schweinsteiger had retired, a decision about coach Veljko Paunovic had to be made, the 2017 playoff team had regressed and the club had open designated-player slots before its high-profile move back to Soldier Field. But anybody expecting quick action from Mansueto was disappointed. A month after the regular season ended — and after he was a prominent face at the Fire’s formal Soldier Field announcement Oct. 8 — Paunovic was sacked. Not until Dec. 20 did Mansueto finally find an executive to run the soccer side of his business, officially hiring former FC Basel chief Georg Heitz as sporting director. In the best of circumstances, it would have been a risky hire; Heitz had no experience in U.S. soccer or knowledge of MLS’ complicated roster rules. And these weren’t the best of circumstances. The 2020 season was starting in a little more than two months, and the perception was how important it was for the Fire to field a competitive, splashy team as they returned to the city. Heitz quickly got to work, hiring coach Raphael Wicky a week after coming to Chicago. He subsequently signed designated players Robert Beric, Gaston Gimenez and Ignacio Aliseda and handed out multiyear deals, turning over much of the roster as he learned the league on the fly. Since then, the Fire have been digging out of that offseason and keep changing their roster-building approach. When he joined the Fire, Heitz preferred not to sign players older than 30. Two years later, he signed 30-year-old Xherdan Shaqiri to one of the richest contracts in league history and 31-year-old defender Rafael Czichos to anchor the back line. Beric, Gimenez and Aliseda failed to earn their paychecks, setting the tone for Heitz bringing in big-money flops. After seemingly disregarding MLS in building the 2020 and 2021 teams, Heitz hired veteran assistant Ezra Hendrickson to replace Wicky and acquired striker Kacper Przybylko in a trade with the Union. Neither of those moves worked out, and Heitz pivoted again. That led to the Fire’s on-field product getting worse after Hauptman, not better, as most had expected. For good and bad, Mansueto has been patient with the soccer side of the Fire. Under Hauptman, there was consistent churn, leading to a lack of roster continuity that forced teams to mesh during seasons. At the same time, Mansueto was too patient in his first autumn running the Fire and has given Heitz more than enough time to turn around the team since he was forced to throw together his initial roster in two months. Now is not the time for Mansueto to be cautious. Decisive action is required, and Mansueto needs to go against his track record to make it happen.