Chicago Fire GM offers few answers after questionable season

There were times Tuesday morning that Nelson Rodgriguez acknowledged the Chicago Fire's dire situation after his first year as general manager.

And there were times during his one-hour postseason meeting with the media that it seemed he wasn't talking about the worst team in Major League Soccer.

A disconsolate fan base looking for answers got few from the GM whose team finished 7-17-10, good for 20th in the 20-team league for a second straight season, with a goal differential to match.

"I think on balance we did well with our acquisitions. That's not to say that they'll all return," he said without naming names. " ... Again, the fault isn't in the individual. The collective wasn't good enough."

Rodriguez offered few specifics, parsing his words carefully as he usually does.

"Success isn't linear," he said. "It's not A to B to C to D to E. Success takes a whole bunch of different turns. ... There has never been a winning team that didn't sacrifice, and what we need to do now is sacrifice more."

Or this.

"I do know that there will be change. There has to be change. But I can't say today that I know what the numbers may be," Rodriguez said.

That might have met Rodriguez's goals, but it won't give fans reason to get excited about next year.

When he did get specific, it was to praise coach Vejlko Paunovic and some players.

"I think he and the staff did a really, really good job," Rodriguez said of the first-year coach, saying Paunovic will return next year.

"There has not been a single thought in my mind to change Pauno," he added.

Rodriguez did acknowledge Paunovic needs to improve his communication with his players, calling it a "cultural" issue with the Serbian coach.

"He recognizes that he'll have to modify his approach, to some degree, with more players because I think he's smart enough to realize that if he does he's more likely to get better results," the GM said.

But when it came to Paunovic's handling of longtime goalkeeper Sean Johnson, for instance, Rodriguez opted for evasion.

One of the few times he named names was to praise members of a back line that gave up a whopping 58 goals this season.

"In an underrated way Joao Meira had a great season," Rodriguez said. "And I don't think he's been recognized enough for that. I think Jonathan Campbell had a great season as a rookie. The media voted Johan (Kappelhof) as our defender of the year."

Returning this club to its pre-2010 glory days won't be much easier this off-season, despite the "tangible progress" of getting the salary budget in better position, having a pair of first-round draft picks, two designated player slots and allocation money.

It would help make fans feel better, though, to hear direct answers to direct questions.

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