Give Or Take Two Weeks

I realize that Ives might not have meant that the time was right now for the Chicago Fire when he wrote his ESPN.com piece, but if you believed that Denis Hamlett and his banged-up Men in Red still had a shot at the Supporters Shield going into last weekend's game with D.C. United, then that match had a lot of significance.

Of course, that was before Columbus and Houston both lost on Sunday. So, on the one hand, it was a definite missed opportunity to throw a red hat in the ring for top regular season honors. On the other, it ultimately didn't change anything in the overall picture. One more misstep from Columbus means the one remaining match between the two Eastern Conference leaders could decide who ends up on top.

It's still going to be very difficult for the Fire to end up anywhere else than second in the east, and with D.C. United still on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go, they needed Saturday's result more than the home team. I would couple that with all the injuries to Chicago, but the backline actually didn't look too bad, to the point where I'd like to see Mike Banner and John Thorrington as the two fullbacks for a match or two, just to see if smaller, quicker guys are able to get forward more to help the stagnant Fire attack.

That anemic offense is still a source of much concern, and it's a tough nut to crack. Part of the reason I'd move Thorrington into the backline would be to get Peter Lowry on the field, as I think pairing him with Logan Pause sets the central midfield a bit higher upfield as their default. I'd also love to see Chris Rolfe up top instead of on the right side of the midfield, because he's got the quickest shot on the entire team.

And somebody needs to convince Cuauhtemoc Blanco to shoot the ball when he gets the chance, and shoot it hard. I like the chips and the clever passes as much as the next guy, but what this team lacks most right now is killer instinct in the final third. I made fun of Jack Edwards as much as the next guy when he said former Fire striker Ante Razov had the "heart of a sniper," but it's precisely that sort of opportunistic goal-poacher that the Fire lacks right now.