Inside MLS 2015 Season Preview: Chicago Fire lean on transfer market to change course

Draw after frustrating draw made the decision for Chicago Fire head coach and technical director Frank Yallop by the end of last season.

There were no half-measures to take after a year of dealing with a limiting salary budget situation and watching his players grind through a league record 18 draws in 34 matches.

Yallop cleared the decks once the season ended to cobble together the flexibility necessary for the busy winter ahead. He knew he needed to find a way to disrupt the tedious equilibrium so often established and obtain players capable of tilting the balance in the Fire's favor.

"I just felt we weren't very exciting," Yallop explained to Inside MLS last week. "We've added some real pieces now that can attack and can make a difference in a match."

The expenditures came at a price: Chicago splashed the cash on three attacking players in a bid to cure its ills and place the team on a path toward its first postseason berth since 2012.

Kennedy Igboananike arrived first from AIK to contribute his searing pace and his sharpness in front of goal. Ghana winger David Accam joined the Fire soon after from Helsingborgs to increase the potency on the counter and torment opposing fullbacks with his mobility, though his Cup of Nations duties prevented him from joining up with the squad until recently. Scotland schemer Shaun Maloney completed the trio when the Fire pried him away from possible Premier League suitors and secured his signature from Wigan Athletic in January.

In a league filled with high-priced arrivals during the winter, the Fire stands alone as the only team to sign three Designated Players. The expenditures serve as both an indictment of past failures and a testament to the resources at Yallop's disposal.

"I have to tip my hat and say thank you to our owner, Andrew Hauptman, because he's quietly just said, 'Do what you need to do,'" Yallop said. "Did we go crazy with millions and millions of dollars? No. But we've identified some guys that we think will really help. We need to build slowly."

The prudence makes sense given the widespread changes during the close season. It will take some time for Yallop and the Fire to integrate Accam, Igboananike and Maloney into the side and work through the inevitable systemic kinks created by their arrivals.

Those demands might change as the season progresses given the newfound flexibility among this attacking group. Maloney figures to slot into a central playmaking role in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 setup, but Accam and Igboananike face a fight to find their place in a squad now teeming with viable attacking options.

"They're versatile players," Yallop said. "It's always a good thing: you can change systems and figure it out. Until you start working with guys, you don't really know exactly what they're capable of doing for you. I think now that we've finally got everyone together, we can watch them compete with each other and compete together. The main thing is making sure that our guys stick together as a team no matter who is playing. I think that's important."

Competition for places certainly is not an issue now after Amarikwa often struggled to find the necessary support last season. The options up front include Amarikwa, former MLS MVP Mike Magee and ex-Southampton forward Guly do Prado (the most robust option at Yallop's disposal), while the wide areas -- especially once Patrick Nyarko returns to full fitness -- remain fully stocked with the speed necessary make an impact on the break.

All of the attacking improvements provide some latitude to figure out matters in the defensive half. Jeff Larentowicz looks likely to drop into central defense again to partner Adailton, but his absence from the center of the park presents questions about the Fire's ability to compete in possession.

The need for another option in either central defense or central midfield looms as a necessity at some point. Yallop evaluated the merits of former France midfielder Alou Diarra before the ex-Bordeaux and Marseille holding player signed with Charlton Athletic. A player of similar caliber, if perhaps a more recent vintage, remains on the shopping list even with some positive signs coming out of preseason.

There is some license for further additions, particularly if Accam, Igboananike or Maloney fail to impress or settle as expected. The constraints are well and truly off ahead of a campaign where the Fire craves substantive progress. It is now a matter of working within this revamped squad figure out a way to produce it without slipping back toward that infuriating stasis once more.

"It's the same approach we have going into any season: Have a good season, make the playoffs," Yallop said. "If you start going above that, then you get ahead of yourself and you don't make the playoffs. Our big goal is to be in that playoff hunt all season and make the cut at the end of the year."

Source: Foxsports