The Fire may have earned victories in the club's two most recent matches, but those weren't the two games at the forefront of the discussion during a Monday teleconference with Frank Yallop.
Instead, the conversation centered on a pair of rescheduled contests that were originally to have been played this week: a Wednesday night match at New England and a Saturday matchup at the Montreal Impact. After both participants agreed to move the former to avoid conflicting with the USA-Mexico international friendly, the latter was tabled until Sept. 23 after the Impact advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League final, the first leg of which kicks off April 22 in Mexico City.
“Ideally, you don’t want that,” Yallop said of the lengthy layoff. “We’ve gathered some momentum with two home wins in a row and are looking forward to playing again. … We’ve just got to get on with it and be prepared for that next game once it comes.”
As a result of being idle for just shy of three weeks, Yallop reported Monday that efforts are being made to set up a competitive match to be played over the coming weekend. A recent intra-squad scrimmage was beneficial, but Yallop doesn’t want his players to “beat each other up."
After managing this extended break, the Fire will have questions of a different sort to face later this season as well. The game against the Revolution was moved to June 13, creating a busy stretch with four games in 15 days just before the likely start of U.S. Open Cup play. The Fire also will now follow six matches in August with five in September, four of which are on the road.
"In hindsight, we’d love to play the New England game now knowing the other one’s been moved,” Yallop said. “Hindsight’s easy. I wanted a free week running up to the Montreal game. That’s one of the reasons we as a club agreed to moving the New England game into the free weekend in June, which seems to make sense for everybody.
“The league had input, and the league basically changed the [Montreal] game," he continued. "[The Impact] have got a massive game coming up, and good luck to them in that. It [would] have been nice to have played, but the thought went into it of giving Montreal every opportunity to do well on Wednesday.”
Looking ahead, Chicago's rescheduled match in New England coincides with a FIFA international window that could mean the absence of Shaun Maloney and others. Yallop, however, made mention on Monday of the possible return to the pitch of the rehabbing Mike Magee and Patrick Nyarko in time for that busy June slate.
TRADING PLACES
– Yallop also had a chance Monday to offer insight into the acquisition of Generation adidas forward Jason Johnson via a trade with the Houston Dynamo, which sent Brazilian midfielder Alex to Owen Coyle's squad in exchange. Johnson, 24, has not played in a competitive game this season, but his new coach is optimistic that he can add quality depth to the Fire’s attack.
“I think it’s just a good opportunity for us to add a younger striker to our core: left-footed, powerful, plays wide left or up front," Yallop said. "I think he’s a raw talent, and maybe a change of scenery will help him."
Yallop pointed to the emergence of midfielders like David Accam, Michael Stephens, Matt Polster, as well as the versatility of Joevin Jones and the pickup of Victor Perez, as reasons behind the Johnson-for-Alex swap. The move offers Alex -- who appeared in 76 matches with 48 starts during his Fire tenure -- a chance for more playing time while also freeing up cap space for the Fire front office in future seasons.
“I just felt that keeping him here and not playing him wasn’t helping him or us,” Yallop said. “That was the reason for the trade.”
– Yallop also was asked about defender Lovel Palmer, who was an unused sub in the Fire's 3-2 win over Toronto but is likely to again feature for the Men In Red in due time. The possibility of injuries, fatigue, suspensions and international duty within the squad over the course of a long season are surely enough to keep Palmer ready if and when his name is called.
“Lovel’s trained very well the last week,” he said. “He’s got his head up and he’s ready to go and fight for his spot. … People get their chances again.”
– Also mentioned was the play of Quincy Amarikwa. In five starts, the forward has yet to make his mark in the scoring column, but Yallop said being a prolific goal-scorer isn’t all that Amarikwa brings to the side.
“He's doing his job creating chances for other players. He does a lot of dirty work for the team,” Yallop said. “A lot of times, that goes unnoticed, but not by his teammates and by his staff and other teams. Quincy will hit the scoresheet, I’m sure, soon. I don’t think it’s wearing on him. Strikers want to score, though.”
