Chicago Fire Will Not Be Competitive MLS Club In 2016

It is the start of a new era for the Chicago Fire in MLS. General manager Nelson Rodriguez and coach Veljko Paunovic are trying to rebuild a team, but they have managed to compile a roster of only 19 players while entering preseason training. Rodriguez says the team has a plan. However, time is running out and the current version of the Fire will not be remotely competitive in MLS.

The team currently has three true defenders and one midfield and defender hybrid listed on their website. They just signed their second goalkeeper last week. There are five homegrown players on the current first team roster. Eight players are 25 years of age or younger. Captain Jeff Larentowicz left for the west coast, so someone will have to take over a leadership role. There are some caveats to the people listed on the active roster, with recent draft pick Brandon Vincent not listed yet, but regardless, there is still no depth on the team.

The Fire are training with 19 players this week and expecting center back Joao Meira once his visa is settled. They are also on the hunt for more center-back help in Europe, but there is no sign of an imminent signing. Somehow Paunovic has remained positive despite looking out onto a team without protection at many spots and many unproven talents.

The lack of movement on the transfer market by Chicago has been alarming to their fans. Rodriguez had stated earlier in the month that he expected plenty of news before training. Some fans see this just like other failings from past management teams that have led the Fire to only one playoff game since the 2009 conference championship. Fans also expect Rodriguez and Paunovic to fill the roster up to the allotted 28 spaces.

Rodriguez has talked about a three-year plan, but the fans watched their team finish dead last in 2015 and would like to see some improvement. That starts with building a solid roster and talk of roster intentions. At this point Chicago may not use all their roster spots by the beginning of the season, as fans will just wait for the downfall and hope 2017 is better.