Being Frank

Luis asks, and I'm going to disagree with almost his entire premise. The Fire still have Chris Rolfe and Patrick Nyarko on the depth chart behind Blanco and McBride up top, and Dasan Robinson, Daniel Woolard and Austin Washington behind Conde, Sega and Baky, in roughly that order. If you were to lose all three, you probably wouldn't be looking solely to the draft to fix the hole, anyway.

The big question, I think, is how long Klopas thinks we can hang on to Bakary Soumare. If we think he's gone sooner rather than later, and that Washington isn't a worthy successor, then the smart move may be to ship Conde to Toronto for the #2 pick and go after Omar Gonzalez. Plus, that gives us a towering central defense. Same sort of goes for Segares, with Daniel Woolard playing the role of Washington, and I don't know who the top left back is in the draft.

If we don't, then, to be honest, I think you look for attacking (or right-sided) midfielders -- pundits love local talent, so that almost means Baggio Husidic by default -- to groom for that position once Blanco leaves, presumably after the 2009 season. There's also the small matter of how much confidence Klopas and Head Coach Denis Hamlett have in Nick Noble, which could mean looking for a better option as a backup goalkeeper. The 'keeper option we could probably get away with on a second-round pick, while the midfield option might also require a trade into the first round, though not necessarily with Toronto for that second spot.

Ives has this to say, which admittedly isn't much:

All the talk about the Chicago Fire losing multiple players during this winter break appears be nothing but hot air. The club is close to finalizing its loan agreement with Marco Pappa and have all but completed Cuauhtemoc Blanco's contract extension. As for disgruntled defender Wilman Conde, the club is open to listening to offers for the Colombian center back, but has yet to receive any concrete offers from foreign clubs.

To be honest, I don't think there are any starting spots available in the lineup (and I'll try to build out that case over the weekend) unless Conde bolts, and even then, I think we've got the depth to cover it. So you're drafting to find better backups than guys like Woolard, Washington and Peter Lowry. Bigger needs should be addressed with new signings, not college kids.