I have been a season ticket holder since the team was founded in 1997. There have been years when being a Fire fan made me proud and provided great memories. An MLS Cup, US Open Cups, and other years with great competitions. For at least the last 4 years and, frankly, longer the team has gotten worse and worse. I love soccer, but the games two years ago, when we set a record for ties, were boring. Last year got worse. I left many games because the team had no offense, no defense, no spirit. This year gave me hope. A new GM. A new coach. Many new players, thank God. But now we are 10 games in and we now have the worst record in the entire league and have taken fewer shots by far than anyone else. I'm willing to concede that you cannot go from where we were to a competitive team overnight, so this season was thought to be a give away from the beginning. However, in a rebuilding year, you expect to play youngsters, prospects, etc. to find out who can play and who can't so that you establish a base. At this point we have seen very little of the youngsters, Fernandez, Calestri, Morrell. Campbell looks like a find. Vincent remains a big question mark. One wonders why we should continue to play journey men like Alvarado, La Broca, and Harrington. Meira has shown nothing. Gilberto needs service but his forays to the back are indicative of a lack of playmaking from others. We have an abundance of defensive midfielders and no playmaking mids. We have others like Accam and Igbo who are fast and athletic but have not shown the technical skill to score. Something needs to be done and soon or we will have wasted another season. Please change something. Spend whatever money is needed to bring in someone who can carry the youngsters and develop a winning mentality. Nowak had it. Kubik had it. Blanco had it. I don't know how much more time and money I can expend on this truly horrible team.
Well done. I, too, have been a season ticket holder since day and I share most of your sentiments. Nowak had it. Kubik had it. Blanco had it. -I would argue that Magee had it, as well. Too bad he was injured and then the team pissed him off.
It's time to walk away, stop spending money on this pile of hot steaming shit that Hauptman built. The Red Stars will welcome you with open arms and a competitive team to watch. Aurora Borealis SC would be happy to have you on board. The Fire will be better again someday but NOTHING is going to change as long as Andrew owns them.
Sad thing is, the roadmap was already there for a successful franchise. Then Hauptman decided he needed to build the club from the ground up....
That was always a load of crap. He never intended to build anything beyond the value of an asset that is tied to the value of the league and nothing more.
The worst part about Magee is that most people around here agreed with letting him go. It appeared he was broken down and that his best days were behind him. He could be a depth piece for LA, coming off the bench occasionally, and that would be better than hanging around here. Well, apparently, he just needed to go to a place with quality doctors and trainers on staff. A short time working with LA's medical staff, and he seems to be back to his MVP self.
Not me. I said we needed him for a solid team, and too many ********ing ********heads around here were wrong about it.
We rarely appreciate things until they're gone, and fans are particularly fickle thinking anyone can do what the guy who just left did. I agreed with you.
Yep Me, neither. That's why I added him to the list. He could have been a Ring of Fire type player. He had "it." The Fire blew it.
I thought he was broken down and his whining was pissing me off. But just because he's done well in LA doesn't make that a bad decision. The damning part is what we did instead. We haven't replaced Magee with anyone equalling or exceeding his production or his locker room presence. Nowak, Kubik, Stoichkov, Kosecki, Podbrozny were all senior pros. Who owns the Fire locker room? Cocis? Polster? No knock on those guys, but there's a clear difference.
Magee was broken down, and he was always a whiny bitch, and I've hated him since he started with the metroscum. he's having a very nice season on an $18 million roster. He'd have 1 goal, an injury, and 17 screaming fits at refs and teammates at this point for the Fire. he's better than I thought he was, but I don't miss him.
The saddest thing that I do care, but the losses don't get t0 me anymore. Maybe I don't "care" but can't "let go."
this is why I still watch and still structure my life around the games - yes, I barely care, but by maintaining the illusion that i HAVE to watch, I can refill my rage meter periodically that Andy has made this thing I HAVE to watch such a pile of shit.
Way to hang in there. I had enough of this shit show after the 2010. It would take me a second to return as a season once Andi decides that he can't milk the league anymore.
The thing about guys like Magee, Rolfe and Nyarko going to other teams and turning it around is that if they had another year here, they would still not play well. It's not that they just had a bad year and patience would have fixed it, it was the diseased club they played for. The thing that made them bad would still exist, and even if they overcame the rot, Pauno would've benched every one of them because he's a f****ng moron. Any player that succeeds here will be a new guy that hasn't figured out what a mistake he made coming here. It would be short lived and we'd see him moved and then he would be revitalized. I feel like "it just doesn't matter" has replaced THP as the team's motto, at least for as long as Andy controls this team. The league doesn't give a damn. Any attention from last year seems to have faded away. It's possible that Andy sought Nimrod out BECAUSE of his league connections. Remember, Andy is the guy that got wealth by marrying the daughter of someone who was rich. He's no stranger at getting in from the from the back door. By hiring NRod, he bought his connections.