Plenty of intriguing questions as Fire training camp begins

By now Chicago Fire players and coaches are settling into a routine that doesn't include grabbing snow shovels and evading potholes. They're enjoying the warm Florida sun and trying to get ready for the MLS season.

The off-season brought many changes to the Fire:

• A new head coach and two new assistants;

• The loss to retirement of Fire original Chris Armas and forward Paulo Wanchope;

• Ivan Guerrero went in the expansion draft to San Jose;

• Veteran central defender Jim Curtin was traded to Chivas USA;

• Goalkeeper Matt Pickens went across the pond to England's Queens Park Rangers;

• Tomasz Frankowski, a Polish striker, is trying to catch on with the Fire and do for it what Roman Kosecki did in 1998;

• And there are the 2008 draft picks, including first-rounders Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Cervi, looking to lock down jobs, with Nyarko counted on to improve a mediocre 2007 attack.

All of which serves to remind us that training camp is a time when there are a lot of questions about any team but few if any answers.

Before the team left for Florida last week, we asked six key figures what questions they hoped to have answered before the season starts March 29 in Salt Lake City. See if you agree or disagree with them.

C.J. Brown

The veteran defender, another Fire original, is still going strong in his 11th season in MLS.

"That's a tough one. I don't really jump into it. Yeah, you've got questions: Are we going to have forwards? Are we going to have midfielders? Are we going to have defenders? And stuff like that. Is everybody ready? But you don't have to be ready right now. This is your time to get the group together, blend, figure out the personalities and see where you stand.

"I guess the biggest question is, do we have soccer players? And, from what I've seen so far, you have soccer players. Can those guys come on the field and learn quickly, because it's a quick process of figuring out who you're going to keep and who you're not going to keep, and stuff like that.

"I don't really come in with questions. It's more like, who am I going to start bonding with first? Who are your true, true soccer players? Who's going to be your forwards? Who's going to be your defenders? I don't come in with too many questions. I just like to watch and see who's developing."

Jon Busch

Last season's backup goalkeeper is the guy many people believe is destined to replace Pickens as the starter. He's not taking anything for granted.

"Honestly, I have no concerns. We've got a great bunch of older guys and we have a good core of younger guys. I think we have the right mix. It's exciting to get going. We have a great staff that Denis and Mr. (John) Guppy (the team general manager) have put together.

"It's an exciting time. Every preseason is exciting for you, it doesn't matter how many years you've been doing it. It's an exciting time of the season."

Diego Gutierrez

Like Brown and Armas, a Fire original. Gutierrez, a midfielder/defender, announced last week he will follow Armas into retirement after the 2008 season.

"We have a good group of players. There's always going to be questions. We lost some key guys: obviously Chris and Ivan Guerrero. But we have a good group of young guys, a hard-working group, and of course we're wanting to prove ourselves real bad. The main question is how is this whole thing going to click? I anticipate with the methods and knowing Denis, it's going to work out just fine. We have more than enough talent, we just have to put it all in the right sequence."

Denis Hamlett

The new head coach has been assistant with the team since its inaugural season.

"The first question is just getting us down there so we can start the process of building this team. On paper you have a good draft. You look at players and you think certain thoughts about those players. But you really don't get that until you get them on the field and start to see them. Once we get there, the first week the questions will probably start to arise."

Justin Mapp

The young midfielder is already a team veteran, but injuries kept him sidelined much of 2007. He spent time training with the U.S. National Team in January.

"New year, and a lot of things changed in the off-season. We've got some good professionals and veterans who decided to call it quits. Paulo Wanchope. Chris Armas. Different players moved. Jim Curtin, who's been with the Fire for a while. He's a good player for the team, good person. Just some questions like that. How we're going to replace some guys in veteran leadership roles. I think we're going to do that. We've got a lot of young guys, and each year each person will tell you for themselves they gain a little more leadership. I think we'll be fine. We'll just have to see how it all shakes out."

Brian Plotkin

The midfielder from Naperville appeared in only eight games in 2007, but he has high hopes for 2008.

"The main question I have I guess is what are some things we need to do differently than last year in the second half of the season to help us achieve the goal of winning MLS Cup. And I guess that'd probably be the question of the coaching staff as well. And moreso the coaching staff than any player, but that's the question that everyone wants to know the answer to because then that's the stuff we'll work on.

"Just one play, a great bicycle kick, was all that kept us out of MLS Cup last year. Anything that we can do better to prevent that, or just something, whatever the answer can be, I hope we can find it.

"We've got a great group of guys coming back, and these new guys coming in, we've got a lot of them, so I'm sure we can find a few that can help and contribute right away. Something exciting's happening. We're a team on the horizon. A team with a lot of question marks, but I'm sure Denis thinks of that as a good thing. He can put his influence on the team, and from there we'll go and do good things."