2023 MLS Regular Season Record: 10W - 10D - 14L
What I said last winter:
They need to find an elite goal scorer
They need to reinvest all the revenue they pulled in from the sales of Gaga Slonina and Jhon Durán
They’re close to being good, but need the final pieces
What happened:
They never signed an elite scorer
They didn’t reinvest much of the transfer revenue
They were close to last in most attacking categories
They fired Ezra Hendrickson and named Frank Klopas as interim coach and now permanent head coach
Key Takeaways from 2023
What is a goal?
Oh, Chicago. You manage to bring in and develop fantastic talent, yet remain one of the worst clubs in terms of playoffs and cups over the last decade. It's honestly perplexing. Despite making two of the largest sales in club history, the added funds didn’t translate into a competitive playoff squad. It just doesn’t equate.
Chicago primarily lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but their results suggested a more defensively inclined setup. Xherdan Shaqiri operated in the CAM role, serving as their primary playmaker, while Gastón Giménez partnered with either Ousmane Doumbia or Federico Navarro in midfield. Rafael Czichos led the backline with a rotation of other players.
Chicago's struggles begin with their attack. They finished last in attempted assists and shots on target, and were below average in chance creation. Additionally, they ended the season with the fifth-fewest goals. While the loss of winger Chris Mueller to a long-term hip injury early in the season is a setback, it can't entirely excuse their overall attacking performance. One noticeable problem in Chicago's recruitment strategy is their tendency to sign attackers that other clubs are ready to offload. Given the influx in transfer revenue, they need to bring in an elite attacker not in the latter years’ of his career.
In the Goals minus Expected Goals category, Chicago ended up in the negative with -2.8. While they didn't generate as many chances on goal, their finishing ability was average. Some players performed below par, but the majority matched their expected totals.
The top performers in G - xG were Maren Haile-Selassie (6 goals vs. 3.8 xG), Shaqiri (5 goals vs. 4.0 xG), and Fabian Herbers (4 goals vs. 3.8 xG). Underperformers include Brian Gutiérrez (2 goals vs. 4.1 xG), Czichos (2 goals vs. 3.7 xG), and Jairo Torres (0 goals vs. 1.9 xG).
Where I think Chicago did well was in their possession stats. They didn’t allow other clubs to consistently dominate them, with just half their losses being by two or more goals. In terms of interceptions, duels won, and possession won, they were either close to or in the top ten in the league. However, when it came to advancing the ball downfield, they struggled and appeared too content with sitting back when they needed a goal scorer to seal the lead.
In terms of goalkeeping, I think Chris Brady fared well in his debut season as a starter for the club. Between him and Spencer Richey, their combined save percentage was below average, as was the number of shots on target allowed by the defense. However, Brady performed well in saving shots inside the box.
For post-shot expected goals, Chicago finished just below zero. Brady ended with +1.5 PSxG, while backup keeper Richey concluded the year with -2.3.
It feels like I'm echoing a similar narrative from last year. The transfer funds appear to be available and unused, the team lacks an elite #9, and from an outside perspective there's no visible progress towards putting out a silverware winning squad. While I understand that success takes time to build, I haven't witnessed a genuine attempt at it from the ownership group. Going into next season, we’ll see, but I’m not holding out hope.
Top Sorare Fantasy Performers
Goalkeeper: Chris Brady | L15: 43 | 60+ pts games: 9 | Clean sheets: 8 | Penalties saved: 0
Defender: Miguel Navarro | L15: 46 | 60+ pts games: 10 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 5 | Clean sheets: 9
Midfielder: Xherdan Shaqiri | L15: 53 | 60+ pts games: 14 | Goals: 9 | Assists: 7
Forward : Kei Kamara | L15: 38 | 60+ pts games: 6 | Goals: 6 | Assists: 1
Extra: Gastón Giménez | L15: 54 | 60+ pts games: 7 | Goals: 1 | Assists: 1
2024 Outlook
Last Updated 1/29/2024
GIF Rating:
Outgoing Players
Kendall Burks - Centre-back - Option Declined
Alex Monis - Winger - Option Declined
Allan Rodríguez - Defensive Midfielder - Option Declined
Alonso Aceves - Left-back - Loan Expired
Ousmane Doumbia - Defensive Midfielder - Loan Expired
Kei Kamara - Centre-Forward - Out of Contract
Miguel Navarro - Left-back - Traded to Colorado Rapids along with $450k in General Allocation Money (GAM) for Andrew Gutman
Incoming Players
Maren Haile-Selassie - Left Midfielder - Loan transfer option exercised
Tom Bartlow - Centre Forward - Trade with New York Red Bulls for up to $400k in target-allocation money (TAM)
Andrew Gutman - Left-back - Acquired from Colorado Rapids in exchange for Miguel Navarro and $450k in GAM
Tobias Salquist - Centre-back - Transfer from Silkeborg IF
Allan Arigoni - Right-back - Loan from FC Lugano
Chase Gasper - Centre-back - Acquired from Houston in exchange for draft pick
Hugo Cuypers - Centre-forward - Transfer from Genk
Nope
The Fire finally signed a striker. Hugo Cuypers is slated to join from Genk and while it’s an expensive move ($12m!), he can help solve Chicago’s most immediate issue, goalscoring.
In terms of other positions, they’ve traded a high quality left-back plus GAM for another high quality left-back (Andrew GOATman), and ownership seem set on using the club as a place for FC Lugano to loan talent to. They own both clubs.
Maybe I’m just blinded by the decade of underperformance, but this roster still doesn’t seem greatly improved from last year. If Cuypers can start delivering goals immediately, my opinion will change, but I’ll hold my applause until a few weeks into the season.