The bad news is the Fire is on a four-game losing streak in which it has allowed 11 goals and scored three.
The good news for the Fire is, well, there really isn’t any. Not right now, at least.
Leading score Chris Rolfe is day-to-day with an ankle injury. The Fire’s playmaker, Justin Mapp, leaves after June 3 to join the U.S. national team for the Gold Cup tournament. And $2.67 million acquisition Cuauhtemoc Blanco isn’t expected to join the Fire until early July — or later, now that he has been named to Mexico’s Copa America roster.
The Fire is in a funk. After giving up three goals to a Toronto FC team that had yet to win or even score all season, it was believed things couldn’t get any worse.
They have. And here are five reasons why:
Pickens’ fading confidence
Matt Pickens’ confidence was soaring after a strong 2006 season between the posts, but the Fire goalkeeper looks like a different player lately. He’s tied for most goals allowed in Major League Soccer with 13 and has been unable to make the game-changing saves that earned him the starting spot over Zach Thornton last year.
Pickens doesn’t deserve all the blame for the 11 goals scored against the Fire the last four games, but it’s his job to clean up the defense’s mistakes.
*Solution: Pickens might have lost a bit of that hunger he had challenging Thornton for the No. 1 spot, but a solid outing (or even a second-half benching) could ignite the third-year keeper.
Mapp’s inconsistency
When the Fire went unbeaten in nine games last season, Mapp’s play was the biggest reason for his team’s success. He continued where he left off early this year, but opposing defenses have taken him out of recent games.
His crosses and highlight-reel dribbling haven’t been as effective as in 2006, and he has managed only one assist in seven games.
*Solution: Getting away from the situation and playing against better competition in the Gold Cup might be exactly what Mapp needs to come back in better form.
Failed strategies
Coach Dave Sarachan has had trouble getting his players to respond to adversity. The Fire is 0-4-1 when the opposing team scores first. And while it’s easy to second-guess a coach’s decisions when his team is in a slump, it appears Thiago should be in the lineup rather than coming off the bench. Thiago has the potential to make things happen on the attack, and that’s what the Fire has been lacking.
Sarachan often stresses the importance of patience, but his tendency to make substitutions later in the match rather than early in the second half means the Fire is staying too long with a plan that isn’t working.
*Solution: Thiago needs to start, and Sarachan also should consider making changes earlier in the match. The coach has earned the right to get his team out of its slump, but a coaching change could come if the team still is playing like this by the All-Star break.
Defensive woes
Several of the goals scored on the Fire have been shot from point-blank range. The back line has looked disorganized during the four-game losing streak and has left opposing players wide open for easy shots.
The defense has the experience and size to be a force, but the players can do only so much without any speed on the back line.
*Solution: Sarachan has used Dasan Robinson in the midfield position on occasion, but it’s evident the second-year player is best on defense. The Fire might want to consider opening contract talks with Tony Sanneh again as well. Sanneh played a key role in the Fire’s late-season push, and the defense really could use his speed.
Off-season tinkering
Sarachan and general manager John Guppy believed so much in their younger players that they parted ways with last year’s two leading scorers, Andy Herron and Nate Jaqua. They also didn’t re-sign arguably the team’s best defender, Sanneh.
The Fire now lacks depth at forward and is relying heavily on Rolfe, who is recovering from an ankle injury and could be called up to the U.S. national team for the June-July Copa America tournament.
The Fire traded 2006 team MVP Herron for the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft, which it used to select Bakary Soumare. While the 21-year-old Soumare is seen as a project, the fact he has yet to play a minute must worry Fire fans, considering Sarachan is known for giving rookies minutes.
*Solution: With Blanco joining the Fire in July, it wouldn’t make sense to trade for another scorer. The Fire must wait and hope Blanco will resurrect the offense. It’s unfortunate the Fire’s offense is so dependent on Blanco’s arrival. He was supposed to complement the team, not salvage it.
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larroyave@tribune.com
