BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – If Frank Yallop is feeling the pressure that goes with managing the bottom team in MLS, he sure is doing a good job at hiding it.
The Chicago Fire head coach has kept a cool head and maintained his sense of humor during a terrible run that saw his side fail to win a single point in four games in June.
However, July has been significantly kinder to the Men in Red, beginning with a deserved point on the road in Houston. The team followed that up with a dramatic stoppage-time win over the Seattle Sounders last Saturday, taking their record to 11-19-21 at the midpoint of Yallop's second season in Chicago.
The fight, passion and never-say-die attitude shown by the players against the top team in the Western Conference shows they still fully back their coach and remain committed to turning things around on the pitch. A standout moment from the match was the celebration after Jason Johnson’s dramatic game-winning strike, when the substitute raced towards the bench to embrace Yallop, a man who has showed faith in him since plucking him from a bit part role in Houston earlier this season.
“Words can’t really describe when a player runs over to you,” Yallop said of Johnson’s choice of celebration. “It was nice; Jason’s a great kid and I want the best for him. I think the club, the team and all of us have been through a real tough time the last few weeks, with not only the results, but the injuries and everything piling on top of not great results.”
“The last few weeks have been tough so it was nice for a player to do that, but the whole team celebrated, it wasn’t just me and it wasn’t just the staff,” he added. “Everyone felt the same emotion from that goal, relief, we got to work, we got a win. We’ll enjoy the moment but our focus is already on the next game.”
Yallop has shown admirable patience and calm in the face of weekly questions from the media concerning his position and communication with owner Andrew Hauptman, himself an increasing focus of the fans’ growing frustrations.
“I’m just here doing my job. There’s always going to be rumors when you’re not doing well, but I don’t worry about it,” Yallop told reporters recently, joking that the team needed a doctor, and not a new coach to turn things around. “We’ve had some injuries and it’s been tough, but we’re trying our best, I’m sticking with it and Andrew’s been fantastic with me.”
The Fire face an important two-game swing against regional rivals Columbus Crew SC this week, and those two games could go some way to dictating the Fire’s season. Six points, starting with Wednesday night’s home clash at Toyota Park, would catapult them back into the playoff mix, while anything less would see them remain adrift at the bottom of the East and facing an uphill battle.
The prospect of taking six points will be tough given the significant absentee list Yallop must contend with, as Shaun Maloney (back) and Jeff Larentowicz (neck) remain out. Meanhwile Adailton is suspended, Joevin Jones is on Gold Cup duty with Trinidad & Tobago, and Guly do Prado (ankle) and Ty Harden (hamstring) are questionable. On the positive side, Yallop should have Designated Player David Accam (hamstring) available after a five-week absence, although he may start on the bench.
Shane Murray covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com
