Fire Confidential

John looking for redemption

2010-02-09T15:04:45Z

It's been a long journey for Collins John.

Bursting onto the scene in 2004 as a precocious 18-year-old, John quickly became a fan favorite at Craven Cottage. But despite displaying a solid strike rate and picking up two full international caps with Holland during his first year in the Premiership, the best was yet to come from John. He proved that with his 2005-06 season, which saw him lead Fulham with 11 league goals despite the fact that he only started 15 of the 37 games he appeared in.

Unfortunately for John, he has never been able to recreate the magic of 2005-06. He lost his place at Fulham, bounced around the second division of English soccer, failed to impress during a one-year loan with Dutch side NEC Nijmegen, and - most recently - got cut from Belgian team KSV Roeselare. Now, John finds himself on-trial with the Fire, where he is hoping he can make a good impression and jumpstart his once promising career.

"I just needed a new spot," John said. "I have played in the big competition that is the Premiership. I've played in Holland, I've played in Belgium... but after this fall I just wanted to get far away from European football and I guess that's what brought me to MLS."

"Hopefully I can do well here and play well in my auditions to the team and maybe I can play and maybe in a couple of years I can go back to Europe, but you never know. I may love it here and stay for the rest of my life. It's still early days. So far I'm enjoying my time here, I'm having a good training camp and hopefully I can score a lot of goals for Chicago this season."

If John is to rack up the goals for the Fire this season, he'll be doing it in his own way. Employing a playing style he compared to that of Juventus-striker David Trezeguet, John typically looks to use a quick first step to capitalize on the mistakes of defenders.

"Obviously we've got [Patrick Nyarko] as a striker and [Brian McBride] as a striker but I think I'm a different type than both of them," John said. "McBride is good in the air and Pat is a good dribbler and I think I'm a totally different player... You might not see me for 15 minutes in a game and all of a sudden I score a goal. I'm a hunter, I just wait for the moment and then I grab it."

While past managers have criticized John for attitude and fitness problems, he has received nothing but positive remarks from the staff in Chicago.

"Collins John is a proven guy," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas said. "He's been at a high level when he was a young player and I think his additive results have been very good. He's been working very hard to get back to the fitness level that he knows he can be at and... he has a good attitude - he gets along with the other players. It's [only a few] days into it and we'll get to know more as the days go by but so far it's been very good."

For his part, John is looking at his chance to make the Fire as an opportunity for redemption. His career has fallen a long way since he was Fulham's top goal scorer in 2005-06 and he wants to get back to the form he knows he can play at.

"I'm still a young player; I'm just 24 years old. I just want to play football and put everything behind me," John said. "I've had a great career already. I've played for a lot of big clubs, I've got three caps and last year and a half hasn't worked out for me but I guess that's football. It's ups and downs. I've been down but I want to go up this year with Chicago. Hopefully I'm going to score a lot of goals this year and forget about everything that happened in '08 and '09. That's one of the key things in sports, if things don't go well for you then you have to try and forget things and work hard and get back to the level you want to be and that's what I'm doing right now."

It's clear to me that John has more than enough talent to be a great player in this league. The only questions for me are his work ethic and attitude. If he continues to get along with the Fire players and staff and continues to work hard to get his game up to snuff, then there is no reason why he shouldn't have success in Chicago. For now though, I'm going to remain a skeptic. With John - who hasn't exactly left his last two teams on the best terms - I'm going to have to see it to believe it.

Fire re-sign Carr

2010-02-08T20:57:55Z

The Fire just announced that they have come to terms with forward Calen Carr -- resigning the 27-year-old former first round pick. Per league policy, terms of the deal weren't announced.

Carr, who has tallied six goals and three assists in 68 appearances spanning four years in Chicago, has missed a ton of time over the past two seasons with a reoccurring knee injury. I'm assuming the Fire don't have concerns over the injury -- otherwise they likely wouldn't be bringing Carr back.

Training Camp Notebook

2010-02-08T19:17:37Z

Photo of a church in Tempe, Arizona -- where the Fire is currently in the midst of training camp. Today's forecast for Tempe? Sunny with a high of 66. Chicago's? High of 30 with a chance of snow. My jealousy? Off the charts.

Every now and then, I enjoy starting off a blog post with a good-old fashioned cliche. It's easy. And sloppy. Whatever. Just roll with me...

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. For the 2010 edition of the Chicago Fire, the first impressions have been made. And -- according to Technical Director Frank Klopas -- they have been positive.

"The training has been going very well," Klopas told me over the phone. "We're just four days into it but I think there's been a very positive attitude from the guys. There have been no issues on that end and they're working very hard and that's been great."

Another positive that Klopas has seen with all the players in camp has been the level of fitness. The Fire has an offseason training regimen that all the players stuck to and they have come into camp ready to compete. Furthering the players fitness this year will be the addition of soccer fitness specialist Alvaro Briones to the Fire's staff. Briones, who served as an assistant under Head Coach Carlos de los Cobos from 2006-2009, will be charged with optimizing player's physical fitness while also offering tactical support.

"This year we made a big commitment from the organization to hire a soccer fitness specialist that Carlos has brought on board," Klopas said. "He should be able to maintain the guys' strength and fitness [levels throughout the year]."

I really like the fact that the Fire brought in a fitness coach this offseason. Hopefully the training that he puts the players through will improve their endurance and performance towards the end of games.

I'll be talking with Collins John at some point today. I'll have a story about him up either later tonight or early tomorrow morning. Until then...

Interviews with Klopas and John later on

2010-02-08T08:37:23Z

I'll be interviewing Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas and the on-trial forward Collins John later on this morning (hopefully at around 11:30...) and I plan on having a post up shortly thereafter. If you're reading this before noon, go ahead and pose a question to either Frank or Collins (or both...). I'll do my best to work them into the interviews. Be back at (hopefully...) 1 or 1:30.

Update -- Training ran a little long today so I only just got off the phone with Frank Klopas (I'll be speaking with Collins John later. He was unavailable due to his required presence at a team lunch). So I'll have the post up a little later than originally expected. I'm guessing it'll go live at around 2.

Match of the Week

2010-02-05T22:33:44Z

No matter what time of year, no matter what continent one is on, on any given weekend one can catch an entertaining soccer game. The key is to know where to look. Well, look no further -- here's a weekly feature that will preview (and eventually recap) my favorite match of the weekend. Consider this your open thread for all of the weekend's matches.

I'm tired of writing about "big-four only" matches, so this week, instead of penning a half-hearted article about Sunday's Chelsea-Arsenal match (which you can catch beginning at 10 a.m. on FSC), I'll be writing about a match I really care about -- Everton v. Liverpool.

And yes, I know this will be the second time I've written about Everton in the past month. And no, I'm not a closeted Everton fanatic. But something about U.S. National Team star Landon Donovan doing big things for the club -- he has one goal and one assist in four Premier League games -- has me roped in. So, with all that, let's get down to business. Here's your match of the week.

The Game: Everton at Liverpool

TV: 6:30 a.m Saturday on ESPN2

Quick Preview: Tim Howard and Landon Donovan take Everton's three-game league winning streak to Anfield this Saturday, where they will face a motivated Liverpool side who are battling for a Champions League spot. Look for the Reds to come out firing on all cylinders, as they need the home win to keep place with 4th place Tottenham, who they trail by one point.

My prediction: 1-1 tie. Steven Gerrard and Tim Cahill with the goals.

As always, I'll be back with the result and a brief recap of the match sometime after it's conclusion. Here's a full TV listing of this weekend's games. Enjoy.

Result: Liverpool 1 - Everton 0. Recap and video highlights after the jump.

Despite going up a man in the 33rd minute, Everton couldn't get past archrival Liverpool, falling 1-0 to their crosstown rivals in an incredibly physical match. Dirk Kuyt scored the winner -- his 50th goal for the club -- in the 55th minute off of a Steven Gerrard corner.

The win moves Liverpool into sole possession of fourth place with 44 points. Despite the loss, Everton remains in 9th.

Former-Fire midfielder Marsch retires

2010-02-05T22:26:10Z

Former Fire midfielder announced his retirement today, putting an end to a 14-year MLS career that saw him play with the Fire from the club's inception in 1998 through 2005. Marsch, who won four trophies while with the Fire, will now join the U.S. National Team as an Assistant Coach for Bob Bradley -- whom Marsch played for while with Princeton, D.C. United, the Fire and Chivas USA.

"I would like to sincerely thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches and supporters for the past 14 excellent years," said Marsch. "Many people have touched my life in a very positive way, and these relationships have shaped and will continue to shape me and my family. I am excited to get started with U.S. Soccer, and I hope for continued success and support within the sport of soccer."

Marsch generated some buzz this offseason when he was interviewed by the Fire for their then-vacant head coaching position. I was always against hiring Marsch -- didn't think his playing style would translate well into an attacking brand of soccer -- but it's good to see he's landed on his feet with the National Team. Bob Bradley certainly isn't a bad coach to learn under.

Some reaction to the news from former-Fire players Chris Armas and Jim Curtin is after the jump...

Chris Armas -- as told to the Chivas USA team blog

"I have shared numerous games, training sessions, preseasons, and even Halloween costume parties over the course of many years with Jesse, and came to understand him as a person and a player. He had a great way with his teammates, knew how to be the life a party, and also know how to step on the field and lead by example. His career is one to be admired, one that saw steady growth until his very last game. I watched Jesse closely as a teammate and, in the last few years as an opponent, and I learned from him and appreciated him more than most did. Not only was he an incredible worker and reliable, he separated himself by being such a smart player and had a soccer brain that allowed him to see things early, and he made the players around him better. We were never on the same team in practice (I have the lumps to prove it) and I learned firsthand that he was hard to play against, always ready to compete. I wish Jesse and his wife Kim the sincerest congratulations on his wonderful career, so well deserved, and all the best moving forward."

Jim Curtin -- as told to the Chivas USA team blog

"I had privilege of playing with, and learning from Jesse for 7 years of my career. He's a winner in life. By that I mean the championships on the field, the family he has, and respect he commands. You truly have to be in locker room, and at training everyday to fully appreciate what he brings to a team. For me, he has had a Hall of Fame career, and I'm proud to have shared the field with him."

I'll be back in a minute with Match of the Week. Happy Friday.

Morning notes

2010-02-05T14:41:00Z

Here are a couple of quick notes to get your Friday started...

Fire local TV update

It's not looking like the Fire will be broadcast on My50 in 2010. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, MLS wants to broadcast all of its games in high-definition this year. My50 does not broadcast in HD. You do the math...

The station -- which aired Fire matches in the Chicago market for the last two seasons -- had its contract with the team expire at the end of 2009. An alternative to My50 is Comcast SportsNet, which aired Fire matches from 2005-2007.

U.S. names roster for El Salvador friendly

National team head coach Bob Bradley has named 23 players to a training camp roster ahead of the Americans' February 24th friendly against El Salvador. The group will convene next Wednesday in L.A., where they will train for a week-and-a-half before heading to Tampa for the actual match.

Since the game does not fall on a FIFA international fixture date, the U.S.'s European based players are unavailable. That won't be the case for the March 3rd friendly at the Netherlands.

"These are important opportunities for these players as we continue to formulate our plans for the roster for the World Cup," said Bradley. "This camp and the game against El Salvador provide a chance for the coaching staff to get one more long look at this group. El Salvador demonstrated during World Cup qualifying that they are a difficult team to beat, so we expect a good match. We had great fan support in our last visit to Raymond James Stadium, and we are looking forward to getting back to Tampa."

Here is the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)

DEFENDERS (7): Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS (4): Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

A Retroactive Practice Report

2010-02-04T13:49:23Z

I might not have been at practice yesterday, but I have a few updates from Wednesday's training session thanks to the email report of a faithful reader who attended the session. Here we go...

John tearing it up --

Apparently, it hasn't taken trialist Collins John long to get acclimated to the Fire. According to our intrepid reader, the former-Fulham striker was very impressive in just his second day of training with the team. Here is the full report on John:

"Collins John looked like a beast today. You can tell he has a good touch even though his timing was bit off. But he is explosive, looks like an [American] football player compared to the rest of the guys. It is hard to see him not making the team, he could be plain dominant in MLS."

John performing well is fantastic news for the Fire. He clearly has a great deal of talent and if he works hard (which it sounds like he did yesterday) on a consistent basis then the rest of the league better watch out.

De los Cobos's regiment

Over the past few months, we've repeatedly heard about the Fire's newfound commitment to playing an attractive, pass-heavy style of soccer. If yesterday's practice was anything to go by, new head coach Carlos de los Cobos seems to be sticking to that philosophy. De los Cobos put the Fire through numerous drills to help establish a quick passing attack, including scrimmages in which players were only allowed two (then eventually one) touches.

Also, the reader said that as a whole, the team's attitude was "more upbeat" yesterday. I don't want to make too much of that -- after all it was only the second day of training, enthusiasm should be expected -- but it certainly isn't a bad thing for some positive energy to be flowing amongst the players and staff.

Thanks again to the reader (you know who you are...) for sending in the updates.

MLS releases complete schedule, Fire announces full preseason roster

2010-02-03T18:40:36Z

A couple of news items for you to chew on this afternoon...

MLS just released the full 2010 schedule and -- at first glance -- the Fire's looks relatively back heavy. The Fire plays 10 of their 30 regular season games in the final two months of the season, finishing up with three games at Toyota Park.

Here's the Fire's full schedule:

03/27 - Saturday at New York 6 p.m. ESPN, Deportes

04/03 - Saturday at Colorado 3 p.m. TeleFutura

04/10 - Saturday San Jose 7:30 p.m.

04/17 - Saturday at D.C. United 6:30 p.m.

04/24 - Saturday Houston 7:30 p.m.

05/01 - Saturday Chivas USA 7:30 p.m.

05/08 - Saturday at Toronto 3 p.m.

05/15 - Saturday at Kansas City 7:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

05/22 - Saturday Colorado 5 p.m. FSC, FSE

05/27 - Thursday FC Dallas 7 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

06/05 - Saturday Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.

06/26 - Saturday at New England 6:30 p.m.

07/03 - Saturday at Columbus 7:00 p.m. FSC, FSE

07/08 - Thursday Real Salt Lake 8:30 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

07/24 - Saturday Kansas City 7:30 p.m.

08/01 - Sunday at LA Galaxy 6:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

08/08 - Sunday New York 6:00 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

08/18 - Wednesday New England

08/21 - Saturday at Houston 7:30 p.m.

08/28 - Saturday at Seattle 9:30 p.m.

09/04 - Saturday LA Galaxy 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

09/08 - Wednesday Toronto FC 7:30 p.m.

09/11 - Saturday at Philadelphia 4:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

09/18 - Saturday at Real Salt Lake 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

09/25 - Saturday Seattle 7:00 p.m.

09/29 - Wednesday at San Jose 10:00 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes

10/02 - Saturday at FC Dallas 7:30 p.m. FSC, FSE

10/08 - Friday Columbus 7:30 p.m.

10/16 - Saturday D.C. United 3:00 p.m. TeleFutura

10/23 - Saturday at Chivas USA 10:00 p.m. FSC, FSE

Games that I'm already looking forward to include the opener at New York (3/27), the first game against Philly (6/5 at TP), and Seattle (9/25), Columbus (10/8) and D.C. (10/16) at home.

The local TV schedule has yet to be finalized. I'm planning on contacting the My50 people to see what the status of their contract to broadcast Fire games -- which expired after last season -- is. Eleven of the Fire's 15 home games are on the weekend.

In other news, the Fire's full preseason roster was announced today. No real surprises on the list, except for goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja and defender Mark Blades making the roster as trialists.

Bubonja and Blades are both rookies who went to school in the area, with Bubonja having attended UIC -- where he played with Baggio Husidic -- and Mark Blades coming through the ranks at Northwestern. For selfish/school pride reasons, I'm hoping my fellow Wildcat Blades somehow squeaks through and makes the team. Not really holding my breath though. It's a bit of a long shot for the former Fire PDL player.

And one final roster note before I go, free agent forward Izzy Iriekpen will join up with the Fire in Phoenix on a trialist basis. A 27 year old forward, Iriekpen last played for Hamilton Academical of the Scottish Premier League. He left Hamilton in late August due to family reasons.

Barring any other breaking news, that's it from me for the day. If you're looking for a little more soccer reading, check out this profile of GolTV color man Ray Hudson. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Preseason Storylines

2010-02-03T13:00:42Z

Unfortunately I won't be able to attend today's Fire practice today at the MAX indoor facility in McCook (class beckons...). But that doesn't mean I don't have to post. So, with that, here are three storylines that should play out throughout the Fire's 6-week long training camp.

1 -- What will the final roster look like?

Three open roster spots. Six new players coming to camp. With those numbers, this preseason figures to be a tricky one. Frank Klopas and Carlos de los Cobos should have a hell of a time sorting it all out.

Complicating the process for the Fire brass is the fact that the club's 20 senior roster spots have already been filled. Because the on-trial Collins John would count as a senior member of the roster, should the Fire choose to sign him they will have to cut someone (likely a forward) from last year's team.

Assuming John does make the team, there will be three remaining developmental slots for five rookies to compete for. Generation Adidas draft picks Corben Bone and Sean Johnson should be relative shoe-ins for the roster given their GA status (meaning their salaries won't count against the cap...) so it looks like there will be one spot for the trio Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Drew Yates and Steven Kinney. I'll say it goes to Watson-Siriboe. He'll provide cover at center-back and could be the Fire's future answer to an anticipated vacancy at the position.

Of course, the Fire could also bring in more new players to the fold. Adding more trialists, making a trade within MLS, or bringing in a foreign signing (I'm currently hearing rumors about a forward coming in from France...) would all shake this equation up. We'll see what happens...

2 -- Will a new CBA be agreed upon?

Should a new deal be agreed to before the February 12th deadline, preseason will continue without a hitch. Should the deadline pass with no deal in place? Preseason training stops and there will be a work stoppage until the league and the Players' Union work something out. Not a very attractive situation.

3 -- How will Carlos de los Cobos's tenure start?

It's imperative that de los Cobos get off to a good start in his first year as head coach of the Fire. I'm guessing he won't have too hard of a time getting the players on board with his proposed attractive, pass-heavy style of play (a lot more fun to play than the long ball game employed in year's past...) but establishing chemistry and getting the players in shape for the upcoming season could be more difficult. Training camp is a great opportunity for de los Cobos to establish relationships with the players and earn the trust of his team. Hopefully he takes full advantage.

An offseason assessment

2010-02-02T13:40:43Z

With only one day left until the Fire officially kicks off its preseason schedule, the time has come for an assessment of the Fire's offseason. And who better to evaluate the last few months than the man behind all the moves, Frank Klopas? Take it away Frank...

"I think that we made very good decisions going forward," Klopas said in a phone interview last Friday. "We hired a very experienced coach that I think has... the right mindset. We're bringing in a soccer fitness coach that has tremendous experience and can help the players a lot this season with performance and speed."

"We've worked hard. We've taken scouting trips, we've looked through the college teams to get prepared for the draft. Right now we feel good, let's just hope it continues and works out in the end."

As I've said before, I have really liked most of what Klopas has done this offseason. Everything from bringing in Carlos de los Cobos as the new head coach to going abroad and signing Krzysztof Krol and Julio Martinez to provide depth to the squad has seemingly been done with deliberation and what will hopefully turn out to be good foresight.

I don't want to beat a dead horse time and time again here, so I'll keep this entry short, but I think it suffices to say that I think Klopas has done a nice job this offseason. Back in November, I thought 2010 would be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Fire. But the moves made by Klopas, Javier Leon and the rest of the Fire's front office staff have changed my perspective. It's now clear that 2010 won't be a rebuilding year for Chicago. My change of attitude is a pretty clear indicator that I think this offseason has gone well for the Fire. Let's see if they can keep the ball rolling...

Where have you gone Denis Hamlett?

2010-02-01T18:22:18Z

When Denis Hamlett was let go by the Fire on November 24th of last year, my personal reaction was a bit mixed. I thought it was the right move for the Fire, but I was a bit sad to see Denis go. Though he could be pretty harsh to some journalists on the Fire beat, Denis seemed to take a liking to me (something I attribute to the fact that I'm young and seem completely non-threatening) and we became something like friends by the end of the season.

So, when the Fire chose to part ways with Hamlett on November 24th, I thought it was only natural that I reached out to him. I sent him a quick email offering my sympathy and blog space -- if he ever wanted his side of the story out, I would be more than willing to write about it -- but he never got back to me. At the time, I didn't really think anything of it.

But as the weeks have gone by -- and Hamlett has remained unemployed -- I began to think more and more about the Fire's former coach. My original question of "where will Denis end up?" changed to "will Denis land a coaching gig?" I was interested in hearing his story/status and it finally came out last night, thanks to ESPN Chicago's Charlie Corr.

Corr spoke briefly with Hamlett about his coaching prospects. Denis was as illuminating as ever.

"I've got some stuff I'm working on, but I'd like to keep it on the down low for right now," Hamlett told Corr. "When it gets done, I'll be more than happy to fill you in on the details."

Solely going from that statement, I'm not so sure that Denis will end up with a coaching job in MLS this year. Maybe his reputation got the best of him this time around. Or maybe the Fire isn't alone in making the switch to a more attractive style of soccer.

Whatever the case, I hope Denis lands on his feet soon. If nothing else, he is a very loyal, hard working guy that would bring a lot of passion and soccer knowledge to any club. He might not be the best head coaching option at this point (he still has to figure out how to get along better with his players...) but I think he could be a solid assistant for a lot of teams. Maybe he's unwilling to go for that. Who really knows? Denis certainly isn't giving any info out. But if I'm running a MLS club that is in need of an assistant, I'm taking a hard look at Hamlett. Lay into me all you want on that one. I'm sticking to it.

Klopas being realistic with expectations for Fire rookies

2010-02-01T12:33:32Z

Every now and again in the world of sports, a player who was originally expected to be selected with a top-5 pick will slide way down on draft day. These experiences, which are incredibly uncomfortable/sad if the player is actually attending the draft (remember Brady Quinn and Aaron Rodgers?), generally end with a team giddily nabbing said "top-5" talent and proclaiming him the organization's savior.

In this year's MLS SuperDraft, the Fire picked a "top-5" talent at 13. And they stole a "top-15" player at 26. And though the Fire is pleased with their first and second round selections of midfielder Corben Bone and defender Kwame Watson Siriboe, the club understands that no rookie -- no matter how big of a steal he may have been -- is going to lead a veteran-laden roster to the MLS promiseland in 2010.

"[Bone and Watson-Siriboe] are two good players but it's a different environment here," Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas said. "Even though we believe in them and know that they have good qualities, they have to come in and prove themselves here because the level of play is much higher."

So if Klopas isn't looking for the Fire's 2010 rookie class -- which also includes midfielder Drew Yates, defender Steven Kinney and goalkeeper Sean Johnson -- to come in and lead the team to a MLS cup, what does he expect from them?

"Every day they need to be competing and staying mentally strong," Klopas said. "We're happy they're with us and now its an opportunity for them to really come out and show what they can do and make the team."

Currently, the Fire has 21 of 24 roster spots accounted for. That leaves three spots open for Collins John and the five-man rookie class to compete for. It should also be noted that the Fire has filled all of their 20 senior-roster spots. So if the club does in fact sign John -- who will likely be counted as a senior international on the roster -- they will need to cut one of the other 20 senior players on the roster. That -- along with many other storylines -- will be something to watch as the Fire get deeper into preseason over the next few weeks.

Thanks for your continued support of Fire Confidential. I should (key word there...) be back for more at some point this afternoon.

Match of the Week

2010-01-30T00:41:57Z

The match: Manchester United at Arsenal

TV: 9:55 a.m. CDT, FSC, on Sunday

Quick Preview: Both teams are trailing league leading Chelsea -- who has a game in hand on both -- by less than two points and need a win to keep pace. A loss would be crucial for either side, but especially Arsenal, who sit in third and will be playing at home. Man U can sweep the season series with a win.

My prediction: 2-1 Arsenal. I like the Gunners at home. Gut feeling.

Result: 3-1 Manchester United. Ooof. Good pick Sam....

Highlights and a quick recap after the jump...

It was a horrible day for Arsenal as they fall 3-1 to United at the Emirates. United completely outplayed the home side and they got ahead early, scoring three goals before the 60th minute to pull away from the North-Londoners. The goalscorers for United were Manuel Almunia (OG, 33rd), Wayne Rooney (37th), and Ji-Sung Park (52nd). Center back Thomas Vermaelen (80th) scored for Arsenal. Check out the full highlights below.

Afternoon Update(d) -- Fire releases Preseason Schedule

2010-01-29T18:40:03Z

Couple of quick updates...

MLS and the Players' Union have agreed to move the deadline to negotiate a new CBA from February 1st to the 12th. The two sides have engaged in what have been called productive discussions over the past couple of days and are making progress towards signing a new CBA.

"Both the Players Union and MLS have concluded that a new agreement will not be reached by February 1, but we have agreed to continue to talk and we will be meeting over the next two weeks to determine if a new agreement can be reached," Players Union Executive Director Bob Foose said. "In the meantime, MLS Players are reporting to training camp, and preparations for the 2010 season will continue."

The Fire will begin their preseason training schedule next week at an indoor training facility in McCook IL. The team will head to Phoenix -- where they will likely be joined by Collins John -- on Thursday.

Update -- The Fire has released more details regarding its preseason schedule. I've listed a few highlights after the jump.
Feb. 2 -- Fire begins training at McCook indoor facility

February 4: Team departs for Phoenix

February 5-18: Two-a-days on campus of Arizona State University

February 15: Friendly against Vancouver Whitecaps at Arizona State, 3:00 p.m. CDT

February 18: Leave Arizona for a brief stay in Chicago

February 21: Depart for Guadalajara, Mexico

February 22-March 4: Training at Club Deportivo at Universidad de Guadalajara

February 25: Game TBD

March 3: Game TBD

March 4: Depart for Jackson, MS

March 5-12: Training at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland, MS

March 7: Friendly against FC Dallas in Ridgeland, MS. 3:00 p.m. CDT kick.

March 12: Travel to New Orleans, LA

March 13: Game TBD

March 14: Return to Chicago

I'm not sure if any of the practices in McCook will be open to the public, but I am working on finding out. When I do I'll pass the info along.