Signs of change all around Chicago Fire
If you know where to look, there are signs around Toyota Park that this Chicago Fire season will be different.
There are the three designated players signed during the off-season, including Wigan transfer Shaun Maloney, who was introduced to the media Monday before the club's first preseason training session of 2015.
For a club that ended 2014 without any DPs and never has filled the MLS maximum three DP slots at one time, that represents the biggest change.
Even a new local television deal - with Comcast SportsNet Chicago - announced Monday is different, not only because the announcement came more than a month earlier than normal, but that it's for three years instead of the usual one.
Oh, and fresh sod on the pitch.
And those three DPs - forwards Maloney, David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike - are all offensive players. This team is being built to score goals, which should be fun to watch.
After a dreary 18-draw season in 2014, that is a welcome change.
"The team is very different this year," Maloney said. "There's been a lot of new signings and I'm obviously very hopeful that I can play a big part in bringing success to the club."
Head coach Frank Yallop would like to see that, too.
"We want to be an attacking, an exciting team to watch," Yallop added, "so our fans are excited when they come to the stadium, teams are looking at us going, 'OK, we've got to really look at what we're doing against them.' That was the most important thing for me in the off-season, to make sure we're a balanced team. I think we've done that with the signings."
Yallop doesn't seem concerned about the defense. There are many new faces there also, like Adailton, Joevin Jones and Eric Gehrig.
"You can only get a certain amount of players," Yallop said. "You can't have 15 defenders. But I feel that we've picked up some quality players in that front, and I still think that in this league you've got to outscore the opponent. I really do. You've got to get at them, you've got to test them. You can't be sitting back trying to win 1-0 in this league because it doesn't happen."
Outscoring teams? For a club that too often gave up a heartbreakingly late tying or game-winning goal last season, that would be a nice change.
"It's very exciting times for us," Yallop said.
That will be determined on the field starting March 6 at Los Angeles (assuming the league and players union can reach a new Collective Bargaining Agreement), but the early indications are a welcome change.
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