The Vanishing Middle Class

I was struck by this exchange in a new interview with Chicago Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas:

"We still have three international spots available so we're still looking for someone who can bring something different to the table from what we've got. For sure another forward. We're looking at some different options there and possibly another player in the back."

Sure, the conventional wisdom going into the offseason was that we had lost C.J. Brown and, thank god, Wilman Conde in the backline, and Collins John, Brian McBride and Nery Castillo up top, so we would clearly need defenders and strikers. Except that we also lost John Thorrington and Peter Lowry, giving us exactly one experienced holding midfielder. Almost every draft pick, trialist or actual player signing seems to be a striker or a defender, and we are still looking for more?

A few weeks ago, there was a debunked rumor about a Costa Rican defensive midfielder that I knew right away was bullshit, because, well, that would imply we were looking at defensive midfielders.

I fear for the 2011 season, really I do.