Where are we now? Fire face playoff elimination
The Chicago Fire traveled to Montréal last weekend knowing that they needed to win to keep their already slim playoff hopes alive. They didn’t.
Now, with three games still to play, their season is all but mathematically over. The only scenario that sees them jump to ninth in the Eastern Conference requires the out-of-form Men in Red to win out while receiving considerable help from elsewhere. Playoffstatus.com, which calculates probabilities of teams reaching the postseason, gives the Fire a less than 1% chance – practically zero.
In Montréal, it never really felt like the Fire were even in the game. They started slow, fell behind fairly early in the first half, and couldn’t recover. Caden Clark’s 74th-minute chip swiftly ended any prayers of a comeback.
“I think it's a reflection of how the season has gone for us,” head coach Frank Klopas said postgame. “Both goals that we gave up… it's unfortunate because we created three or four opportunities that we should have scored, and that's just how things have gone, really close, and then we just seem to give up that first goal.”
2024 has been another miserable season for the Fire, and it was almost entirely devoid of memorable moments. A pair of thrilling 4-3 comeback wins over Montréal and Philadelphia seem like a distant memory now, and the prevailing story is one of a team that failed to win almost any of the games that it should have won.
These final three games are an opportunity to continue turning the page to 2025, a process that, frankly, started a few weeks back with the announcement of sporting director Georg Heitz’s departure at the end of the season. Heitz’s resignation was followed shortly by Xherdan Shaqiri’s mutual contract termination, cutting short a failed marriage that didn’t work out for either party.
Ever since that crucial week in August, the Fire’s higher-ups have been conducting their search for Heitz’s replacement; it is also a possibility that a change at the top of the sporting department will also mean change in the head coaching role. However, none of that has been finalized yet, and while playoffs are out of the picture, there are still ways that the Fire can find value in the remaining fixtures this fall.
“We give everything in every game to the end,” Klopas said. “We have two home matches. I think it's important to finish strong at home. We're professionals, and we've got to go out there and do our job, and come out next week and regroup.”
“I think that there were really good moments that we can take away from this game, and I think it's important to finish on a positive note… it's our job to show our fans that it's been a difficult, tough season, but I think we fight all the way to the end, and we try to win the two home matches.”
One bright spot of the second half of the season has been homegrown fullback Justin Reynolds, who returned from a short-term loan to FC Lugano over the summer. The 20-year-old did not have any meaningful role in the first team when he left for Switzerland in March, but since he came back, he’s gotten on the field five times in MLS and once in Leagues Cup. The young defender has performed very well in his limited minutes and provided a genuine spark off the bench last Saturday.
Reynolds could be a beneficiary of the fact that the Fire have no real jeopardy in the final matches – he was in contention to start in Montréal, but now, Klopas feels he’ll have no hesitation to give opportunities to players who would benefit from gaining experience on the field in MLS.
“It was going to be a difficult game [in Montréal], and we didn't want to put them in a difficult spot,” Klopas said, citing Montréal’s intense home atmosphere, “but we knew that he was going to get minutes, and he came in again, really positive. Got forward. Got crosses in. He had a great chance.”
“If he continues this week, I have no problem throwing him in there because he’s proven to me that we believe in him… It's just about maturing and coming in, and he's done really well. I think that's a really positive spot for us. It's good to see that, and don't be surprised if he gets a start next game.”
The final stretch of games will start on Saturday in Bridgeview against Toronto, followed by a road game in Charlotte and a Decision Day finale hosting Nashville. There will be plenty of storylines to fight for, as individual players hope to establish their importance heading into what will undoubtedly be a tremendously busy offseason. The Fire as a collective also must likely win at least one or two of the remaining fixtures to ensure they don’t suffer the ignominy of a last-place Eastern Conference finish.
But with an official elimination looming over their heads regardless of what happens on the field this weekend, the most significant headline remains – that MLS’ longest active playoff drought will be extended to seven seasons.
