Shaun Maloney in action in San Jose
Photo: John Hefti (Prost Amerika)
3 random thoughts from the Chicago Fire v Toronto game
1. Chicago are NOT a one man team
A well known observer who normally has the flair for cutting through the PR speak observes that “Harry Shipp was too good for Chicago Fire”. The implication was that the Fire are a one man team, with a single great player and ten duds.
The win over Philadelphia may not have been much to write home about but today’s win over a star studded Toronto side came despite losing Michael Stephens as early as the 8th minute.
Shipp was good but not as dominant a sole force as he had been in the loss in San Jose.
On Saturday, Shaun Maloney and Jeff Larentowicz stepped forward with both thoroughly deserving to be on the scoresheet, AND the winning side.
With Maloney being a DP and Larentowicz being a veteran, that may have been expected but perhaps the highlight of the show was the youthful zeal and enthusiasm of a less well known DP David Accam.
The 24 year old Ghanaian international’s arrival may not have made the media impact of some of the other DPs but he looked as dangerous a league newcomer as has been seen outside perhaps Octavio Rivero in Vancouver.
Harry Shipp outclassed his teammates at the Avaya earlier this year but was part of a team effort in the win over Toronto
Is Frank Yallop beginning to mesh together a team capable of staying in the top 3 of the Eastern Conference? Certainly there do not seem to be three outstanding sides to lay an automatic claim to the top 3 berths.
This remains to be seen but if every match is as entertaining as today, we may start to see fuller houses at the Fire sooner rather than later with soccer to warm the hearts of the long suffering Fire fans.
2. Are some MLS superstars overrated?
There are more DPs littered around MLS than ever which most think is a good thing and improves the overall quality of the league.
However only a select few receive the MLS superhype treatment when they initially join the league.
In recent months Kaka, David Villa, Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey have received the mega-hype.
You would think these godlike figures were so far above the rest of the players that their sides would only have to show up to win every week.
The final three names, Altidore, Bradley and Dempsey are US internationals whose arrival in MLS registered higher perhaps because they play for the national team and their presence in MLS feeds into a larger debate. This debate was most recently played out between the two highest profile non players in our game, MLS Commissioner Don Garber amd USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Garber the Cool: Was his assault on Klinsi more calculated than emotional?
To make a comparison, Chicharito going on loan to Real Madrid (after royally flunking at Manchester United) was bigger news in Mexico than in the rest of the world combined. Exactly like Dempsey coming to US because he couldn’t get near an EPL starting XI, the news barely resonated in England but was a massive deal here.
Kaka and Villa have done wonders for ticket sales in Orlando and New York respectfully, as Freddie Ljungberg did in Seattle but Orlando just lost two straight home games against sides with very ordinary sounding line-ups with respectful apologies to Gershon Koffie and Taylor Kemp.
Today Bradley, Altidore and Giovinco were unable to inspire TFC to a win over a side we were recently being told was a one man team, with that man really being just a youngster, Harry Shipp.
Make no mistake, the Fire were well deserving of this win despite sounding like a team full of journeymen with even their DP being someone whose best moments came in the back water of the Scottish league.
Do we overhype certain players because of either their nationalities, their previous leagues or based on their history at a level of football they can no longer sustain?
3. Don’t write obituaries or organise coronations after one game
This random thought is brought to you by the country of Canada.
On opening day, Toronto marched into BC place and made it ‘their house’ with a convincing 1-3 win to win the Canadian version of bragging rights which entails ‘provoking mild but harmless fun at another person with no intention to offend’ rights.
The Whitecaps fansites were full of the kind of pessimism you really ought to keep bottled up just 90 minutes into the season. Worse still, the annual Toronto false dawn prognostications came out of the woodwork.
Since that loss, Vancouver have won all three and since that win, Toronto have lost all three.
Vancouver arguably did not play much worse in the defeat versus Toronto as they did in the victory in Chicago. They were average on that latter day and improved a little to beat an Orlando side who will not end up losing at home too often.
They managed to beat Portland in the Cascadia derby despite being second best.
It’s hard to pinpoint why Toronto keep losing. They were reduced to ten men in Columbus but a similar fate did not stop San Jose winning in Seattle. They were reduced to ten men again today, when the score was 2-2. Warren Creavalle’s dismissal cried none of the injustice that lingered after the red card in Columbus
Perhaps the only prediction we can make on the basis of the season so far is that the Reds had better tighten up their discipline. And writers should avoid conclusions until well after they have already come true.
Chicago Fire
Toronto FC
