BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Drawing 18 times in one season will do something to the psyche of a club. It’ll do something to the roster, too.
In 2014, the Chicago Fire tied games in just about every way imaginable – from winning positions, via comebacks and as a result of goose eggs – and lost games they should have drawn. It was a year of single points, but no playoff berth.
Logically, then, Fire boss Frank Yallop ushered in an offseason of change, more specifically, rejuvenating an attack that lacked an elite creative presence.
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In came Nigerian forward
Kennedy Igboananike
, Brazilian striker
Guly do Prado
and Ghanaian attacker
David Accam
. However, the final piece of the puzzle, “the most important piece,” according to Yallop, arrived on a Sunday in late January, when Scottish midfielder
Shaun Maloney
tied his future to the Windy City
.
“Someone like Shaun makes the team tick,” Yallop told reporters. “With the signings we’ve made early, the one piece that we needed, and the most important piece, was getting Shaun.”
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The former Celtic, Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic player reportedly turned down a move to Premier League strugglers Leicester City to make the move to MLS, with Fire owner Andrew Hauptman backing his coach, the purse strings were loosened to get the deal over the line after weeks of negotiations.
Not that money was the deciding factor, though the DP offer on the table certainly didn’t hurt.
“I don’t think the financial side of it really came into it, I certainly wasn’t going to make a career move at this stage based on finances,” Maloney, 32, told MLSsoccer.com. “I think it was just the feeling that I got, in terms of a completely new challenge, completely different lifestyle and then when I spoke to the owner and the manager here it very much made my mind up.”
Boasting an impressive ratio of one goal every four and a half games at club level, Maloney offers the Fire a dynamic and creative force in the final third, with his ability to find a pass and split defenses sure to catch the eye in his maiden MLS season. He’s also a dead-ball specialist, and his accuracy from free kicks and corners should make his teammates more threatening as well.
“Over his career he’s been a good, solid, dependable, playmaking attacking midfielder,” Yallop added. “He’s got a lot of assists on his resume and also chips in with goals. He’s the type of player I like and I think he’s going to do really well here.”
Surely Maloney would agree, however, that personal success is secondary to helping the club mount a playoff challenge after failing to make the postseason in all but one of the past five years.
“For me he is the key player for our team,” Accam said. “With his experience and also he’s very creative, so a lot of work will depend on him. Also, we’ll do our best to help him to survive, because he is a key player for us.”
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“He is just like a leader because he is so good and he’s got a lot of experience too,” Igboananike added. “So for him, he shows good character, good example and good with the ball. For us, to just help him and also to make him better. He’s going to make us better too, so we have to play like a family, to make everyone better.”
While Maloney will, perhaps, be under the most scrutiny by critics and opposing teams alike, Yallop’s efforts to reenergize his roster means the Fire have a glut of attacking threats – more than can play at any given time – especially when you consider Mike Magee (hip) and Patrick Nyarko (knee) are expected to return from injury in May or June.
“Shaun is obviously very exciting,” Jeff Larentowicz said, “but the other guys are too.”
Of course, goals win games, and only four teams fared worse than the Fire’s return of 41 in 34 games in 2014, thus the offseason DP spree.
Where exactly Maloney lines up will depend on the opposition and what formation Yallop chooses, with the Scotsman sitting behind a front two of Igboananike and Accam most likely based on the club’s preseason selections. He could also play a more advanced role in the center of a middle three, which would allow Quincy Amarikwa, do Prado or Magee to feature in a forward trio.
It’s worked so far, albeit without any pressure, as the Fire went unbeaten in five preseason games. But old habits die hard. Chicago recorded just one victory to go with four ties from a challenging schedule against Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Stabaek, Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Maloney impressed in most of those outings, probing tirelessly, always making himself available and going close with several long-range efforts as the Fire’s woes continued in front of goal with just two tallies in five games. However, the early signs are promising, although the man himself isn’t willing to predict what that might mean over the course of a whole season.
“I don’t tend to set personal targets, in my position I feel it’s not really that viable,” he admitted. “I just want as many assists as possible and as many wins for the team as possible, and that’s the biggest thing. I think the playoffs have to be the ambition of the team this year, and really compete, and I don’t think that’s unachievable.”
