Rafa is willing to play for USL money Why didn't keep him around...you would think he would have played 600+min by this point
He was unfortunately a bad influence in the locker room. Just bad habits and it was contagious. This was after year one so the existing rot infected him but the damage was done. That’s why he’s gone.
I usually sit on direct information until enough time has passed. Let’s just say there’s a reason they didn’t try to resign him at the end of his contract and he sat around in Chicago until this opportunity showed up. He wanted family and fun time more than soccer and that’s OK. It’s just not OK if you’re a professional.
I’ve been around a long time. I was just texting Armas yesterday wishing him a happy birthday and continued success in the west. I just know lots of people and hear things all the time and don’t need to “brag” and get the euphoria of internet likes some people do. I honestly just want to see this club move forward. So when I heard from enough people over a long enough time that Rafa was on vacation I chose to trust it. I still didn’t say it then so as to not get people on the trail of anyone that might have mentioned it to me but by now it’s both common knowledge and water under the bridge. Rafa was above average on the field (~60th percentile in lots of categories) but ultimately not a world beater by any stretch. He wasn’t the answer we need now. Not that the cabs we have now are but he would not be a seismic change from anything we now see.
Just to clear up any possible confusion. I know nothing about any of this, I was only commenting on a new posting about a recent Fire player
Not going to drag all the specific of the mud back out, but in another very similar situation I spoke directly with a different player (on a largely different roster) that had the same types of things being said about them…and they told a very different story…directly to me. Of course those rumors were repeated by ‘people in the know’, and I can’t know if the player was being 100% truthful, but they sure sounded legit. Ironically(?) the context was very similar…a ‘star’ player on the team was not performing well and every accomodation was being made to try and make it work…and it wasn’t working…and then another quality player was branded a problem. Not saying the Czichos hearsay is false, can’t know, but it would be interesting to hear his side of the story. Guess this counts for entertainment during an off week
The Fire also 'gave up' on the other player I referred to...despite their individual game performance being consistently good...'black balling' and 'scapegoating' are not necessarily signs of 'guilt'....especially when there is a 'golden boy' that isn't performing and it couldn't possibly be their fault.
Sekulic was Serbian and hated Shaqiri because of the political strife. Sekulic was shit talking about Shaqiri the entire time they were together. My understanding is Shaqiri didn’t like him either. That’s understandable if you don’t like genocide. Sekulic was just very vocal about it with anyone that would listen.
And not the player I was referring to… But yea, Shaqiri’s poor performance did end up with a lot of finger pointing…very little ‘at him’, until there was no one else to blame Wait! Is the 2026 thread? This black sheep blather probably would be best elsewhere
Sekulic is Serbian. He was born there, he grew up there, he played for two or three Serbian clubs. He moved to Slovakia at age 19. He is back playing in Serbia, by the way, at FK Železničar Pančevo Edit: @bunge beat me to it!
Poor form to presume the worst about someone without truly knowing… I mean, just because he was verbal about Shaqiri looking off his runs that were specifically part of the team tactics (and putting him/Boris way out position when he/Shaq would turn it over behind him) doesn’t mean he’s a F’n fan of genocide!
Couple items of note- 1)Just saw that Barroso called up to Portugal U21 team and will miss Fire matches. ( researching which ones.) 2)Also saw posting stating Cassano wants to go back to Italy ( heard this before) and that he is being pursued by multiple Serie B and Serie C clubs. ( not researching this) Question- If Cassano is transferred at a profit, would that profit convert into GAM for Fire? Thinking maybe not, but interesting thought.
Talk about entertainment: Oh, boy, we get to play GUESS. THE. PLAYER. Let's examine the clues: 1. Very similar situation to Czichos? -Okay, we can assume an upper echelon member of the Fire. 2. (Largely) different roster from when Czichos played? -So, not 2023. Could be (but not likely) 2022, but probably not 2024 and definitely not this year. 3. Same types of things said about him as Czichos? I presume that means: on "vacation" and "bad influence in the locker room" and "bad habits"? -hmmm, we have had a few of those in recent memory. 4. A "star" player on the team was not performing well? -We have not had that many 'star' players in recent history. 5. Every accommodation was being made to try and make it work? -That could be one of several players 6. "Another" quality player was branded a problem? -Hmm, with the lack of quality on the Fire, this could prove difficult. Hmm, this will take a bit of thought. Can I phone a friend? Really, I won't pry into who the player was. If you want to tell us, you can.