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2009 Fire report card: Forward
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire had the league's worst offense at home (1.07 goals per game), but the second best on the road (1.53).
They started the season undefeated through 11 games (5-0-6, 20 goals), and forward Brian McBride held the MLS scoring lead with six goals in mid-May. But they had only 19 goals in their 19 games from May 31 through Oct. 22.
Forwards have hot spells and dry spells, and teams as a whole have hot streaks and cold streaks. But Chicago's front line never seemed to be on that hot side of the scale. McBride did score in three straight games in April. But between his shoulder injury and a scoring slump, the Fire's goals leader could not find that early season magic.
"You've got to sit back and reflect on a few things," McBride said. "My diving header in the first half against New England in the playoffs -- that is something that I should have put on goal, at least. There are certain instances that you look back on and would do something different.
"Part of being a forward is plugging away, making sure that you're not dwelling on it too much," he said. "And now I get to look back on it. Of course you want to score goals. For the main reason, you want to score goals to help win games. I would have loved to have done that [in the Eastern Conference final]. For one reason or another, it didn't happen for us, and for me."
Among the rest of the forward group, second-year player Patrick Nyarko showed some great promise, and his speed is a benefit. But on the finishing side, in 30 regular-season games he only produced 33 shots -- 20 shots and four goals. Chris Rolfe took more shots than anyone (62) with a modest six-goal total. Calen Carr and Stefan Dimitrov rarely were used, combining for 17 games and only 214 minutes.
It should be interesting to see how things progress in trying to bring back McBride. Having a target player has its benefits when things are going right, and when McBride was in his prime he was as good as they come. McBride still has the toughness and finishing power, even though he was just off the mark quite a few times in the second half of the season. His speed isn't the same, but a world-class player such as McBride always will find a way to compensate. And combining him with a speedster such as Nyarko can frustrate a defensive group.
The Fire fell short of their offensive expectations late in the year. But without Rolfe (bound for Aalborg) and with McBride's future in question, where will this team turn to for its scoring power?
FINAL GRADE: C
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