GM says club needs to give more in 2017.
BRIDGEVIEW, IL—One thing Fire general manager Nelson Rodriguez did not see when he came into the job over a year ago was a last place finish. That was exactly what happened this season. He admits it makes it hard to show tangible progress that was made this season and held himself accountable as he addressed media in this third and final media roundtable this season.
“The results are dispiriting,” said Rodriguez That’s all my responsibility. I assembled this team. While I expected and was frustrated at times, I also know that we’re making progress against our plan. I know that we’re in a better position in the team’s salary budget I know we assembled a very hungry group of players that are either entering their prime or in their prime.”
Rodriguez is confident that he has a core group of players to build with including Michael de Leeuw, Johan Kappehof, David Accam, Jonathan Campbell, among others. The Fire will also have two first round SuperDraft picks, two Designated Player spots, tons of allocation money both general and transfer, and salary cap room. Seven players are under guaranteed contracts, and Rodriguez said that there will be change in the roster. How much change will be a question.
He understands that January will be crucial, but also told of the potential difficulties of getting deals done and prefers to get it right as opposed to getting things done fast.
As for his assessment of the team in 2016, it was squad that had character according to Rodriguez, but clearly lacked the belief that is could win.
“Unfortunately, while that was a good group that we assembled, it was not a winning group. We learned how to compete, what we didn’t learn was how to win.”
One of the type of players that Rodriguez covets is one who has been in big moments and won in those moments that could help the team’s psyche and cited the 2-2 draw with LA Galaxy in August as a match where the Fire failed to close a match out. There were at least two other matches where the Fire had a lead late only to concede late and drop two points. Another type of player Rodriguez seeks is a central midfielder who can dominate not just by creating chances for others, but create chances for himself.
As for what head coach Veljko Paunovic could do better, Rodriguez said that he could be more personal with some players rather that treat everyone the same.
Comparing 2016 to 2015 is a little too easy according to Rodriguez since 2015 was the end of one regime and 2016 was the start of another. That said, the club needs to give more going into 2017.
“What we need to do now is sacrifice more. We need to give more. That starts with me and the coaching staff and the support staff. Then that trickles down to the players and transcends all the way through the organization and anyone who touches the team. I think it’s too simplistic to just look at 2015 results, because that was a compilation of all that came as part of that, and I think 2016 from my perspective – and I respect that for the fans it was a different continuum – was the start of a new process.”
Asked about the kind of support owner Andrew Hauptman has given him, he says that he maintains a ‘good relationship with him,’ but understands that 2017 needs to bring improvement.
“He’s disappointed,” Rodriguez said of Hauptman. “He expected more. I believe I have a good relationship with Andrew and the board. His expectations are fair. I appreciate that he has supported our decisions, supported our plan, and supported our requests. He wants to win. I know that’s somehow been lost in the shuffle here in Chicago, but it’s my job to deliver that. While I have a good relationship with him, make no mistake, it’s the first lesson I learned while at the league office: You are never friends with the owners. He hasn’t said anything. The first five games of next year, everyone’s going to be looking at it as a barometer of January and the next phase of our plan. Right now, he’s disappointed as is everybody.”
THOUGHTS: Like I said after the second media roundtable, to be optimistic about the Chicago Fire is to be in the minority these days. We don’t think everyone shouldn’t be negative about the team, but we are also of the belief that Rome was not built in a day. Unfortunately for many, it’s also taken longer than many want it to as we have mentioned the challenge of selling patience to a fan base that has none.
I also said that it all comes back to Andrew Hauptman and his commitment to the team. He has to commit to providing the resources that Nelson Rodriguez will ask for in January when the transfer window opens again. He has to commit to letting people do their jobs to make soccer in Chicago work again. It will be on him more than most if the Fire do not land a marquee player in January and that there is no nominal progress early on in 2017. Then we will be of the belief that either through league intervention or strong insistence that Mr. Hauptman pass off the club to an individual or group who can make those commitments.
As for Nelson Rodriguez, he said that he feels “an obligation” to bring a championship team to Chicago. He sounds determined to stick through his plan. He has been derided this season by fans because of the team’s 7-17-10 record and 20th place finish as has Veljko Paunovic. To say that either should be replaced in this offseason is absolutely ridiculous. Some Cubs fans perhaps wanted Jed Hoyer or Theo Epstein out after they lost 101 games in 2012. The Cubs stuck to their plan and look where they are now. There are examples of three-year plans that have worked and I will mention some of them in my end-of-season review later this week.
We understand that there are area of the Fire that are top class, including its community department which recently won a huge award last week. However, it’s on the pitch that Fire fans care most about. They have been awful the last few years and they were awful this year. This offseason is indeed going to be extremely crucial and Nelson Rodriguez appears to realize that. Equally important is whether Andrew Hauptman will realize that as well.
