The Fire has announced that they will hold their second annual open tryout for the team this year. Registration for the tryouts, which will take place on December 8-9 at the The MAX Indoor Soccer Center in McCook Ill., closes at 3 p.m. central time this Friday (December 4th). There is a $150 sign up fee that includes a ticket to April 10th's home opener against San Jose.

Chivas USA became the second of five teams to fill their hole at head coach yesterday, when they hired former Chivas USA, L.A. Galaxy and Bayern Munich Assistant Martin Vasquez to lead the squad.

Vasquez (who is on the far right in the adjacent photo) replaces former Chivas USA and current Toronto FC Head Coach Preki at the helm of the Los Angeles club.

Hey everybody, I have had an insanely busy last couple of days so unfortunately I wasn't able to write a full entry for this morning. However, I didn't want to leave the site blank for you guys so I thought I'd share a short -- yet loaded -- question with you all.

You can check out the poll after the jump.

On Tuesday, the Fire distributed a letter that owner Andrew Hauptman wrote to fans of the club. The letter, which ran a relatively short 293 words, was sort of Hauptman's wrap on the season. It details how he felt after the Real Salt Lake game and reminds fans that the club is already working hard to bring a championship back to Chicago next season.

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving (I know I did, the turkey was delicious...) but I'm back with more Fire news for you on what will hopefully be a leisurely day of leftovers, relaxing and maybe - for the adventurous amongst us - Black Friday shopping.

Today's post concerns the topic of the Fire's impending void at Designated Player.

Here are a few links to get your day started...

Former Fire defender Diego Gutierrez may have retired as a player at the end of the 2008 season, but he didn't leave the world of soccer when he hung up his cleats, as Charlie Corr points out here. Check out the article to learn about Diego's budding career as an agent (he represents Wilman Conde, Marco Pappa and Bakary Soumare, among others), his philanthropic work and more.

Christmas is only a week away and I have yet to start my shopping. I know, I'm bad news (and a bit of a procrastinator... just look at the time I posted this...) and I'm feeling a little guilty over my late start. So, to alleviate some of that guilt, I've decided to make a little list of gifts I would buy for certain Fire players.

The Fire's front office brass and Denis Hamlett are scheduled to have a sit-down in the next couple of days to discuss the Head Coach's future at the club.

"We're supposed to have a meeting in the next couple of days," Hamlett said on Tuesday afternoon. "We spoke yesterday and decided that we want to sit down and have a discussion.

More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Fire announced their 'protected list' of 11 players who wouldn't be eligible for selection by Philadelphia in today's MLS expansion draft.

One player in particular who stood out on the list was midfielder Justin Mapp. Mapp, a 25-year-old winger who has enjoyed a lot of success in the past, struggled with his play - and his ability to get playing time - for all of 2009.

Hey everyone, I finally made it to Detroit and I have a couple of updates to share with you all...

McBride and Brown -- Back for 2010

The Fire announced today that the club options for both Brian McBride and C.J. Brown have been picked up -- meaning that both will be back with the club for the 2010 season.

When the Fire decided not to renew the contract of former Head Coach Denis Hamlett last week, thoughts immediately went to where exactly the Fire would get their next head man.

The possibilities seemed to be pretty numerous, with several high profile MLS assistants and former/current head coaches coming to mind right off the bat.

I've learned that Eric Wynalda, the 2nd all time leading scorer in U.S. National Team history and current co-host of Fox Football Fone-in on FSC, is strongly interested in the Fire's head coaching position.
I would be very surprised if the Fire hired Wynalda, who was notorious for his brashness both on the playing field and in the broadcast booth throughout his career.

I first met Gonzalo Segares this June while covering a Fire training session. Gonzalo was playing through a calf injury at the time and left the practice field early to enter the locker room to receive some extra treatment on his leg. But before he could escape I jogged over to introduce myself to him.

There will be a couple of notable returns to old stomping grounds in the Champions League round of 16. With Jose Mourinho going back to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea and David Beckham facing off against Manchester United, some old passions will be renewed and a couple of old grudges brought to the surface.

It's pretty easy to see why this season was a frustrating one for Fire defender Gonzalo Segares. After being a stalwart in the backline for years for the Fire, Segares was forced to the sidelines this year, only playing in 12 regular season games due to a combination of injuries and national team call-ups.

Getting off the topic of the "Hauptman Letter Debate" for a minute, some important info came out today regarding next Wednesday's MLS expansion draft. Here's the info, per Steve Goff (and NaperSteve -- who provided the tip):

Philadelphia will select 10 players; current clubs must submit their 11-man protected list by Monday afternoon; no club will lose more than one player, which means five teams won't lose anyone; Generation Adidas and home-grown players [(for the Fire that means Baggio Husidic and Patrick Nyarko] need not be protected; developmental players claimed must be offered a senior contract; clubs must protect designated players that have no-trade clauses.

Hey everyone, have a little Saturday morning update for you courtesy of scaryice -- who tipped me off to these stories via email. Here we go...

Nyarko Graduating Generation Adidas?

According to this post on Climbing the Ladder, Patrick Nyarko could be graduating from the Generation Adidas program.

I'm sure most of you noticed that last week's edited version of Fire owner Andrew Hauptman's letter to fans stirred up quite a bit of controversy on this site. Well, it got people inside the Fire front office talking too and I'm happy to say that Hauptman got involved, writing back to me via VP of Communications Becky Carroll.

The Fire announced their list of 11 expansion draft protected players today. The players, who will be ineligible for selection by the Philadelphia Union in Wednesday's expansion draft, include the following:

GK: Jon Busch

DEF: Wilman Conde, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, Tim Ward

MID: Justin Mapp, Marco Pappa, Logan Pause, John Thorrington

FWD: Brian McBride, Patrick Nyarko

So, not a whole lot of real surprises on this list for the Fire.

Hey everybody, I'm working on getting some interviews with Fire personnel scheduled so I will hopefully have some stories up regarding the 'protected list' decisions later on. If the interviews don't work out, don't worry, I'll be back with another post today but the content will be slightly different.

After two seasons at the helm, Denis Hamlett is out as Fire Head Coach. Hamlett, who took the Fire to two conference finals in his two year run as head coach, was told by Fire staff this afternoon that his expired contract would not be renewed this offseason. He will leave the club, effective immediately.

The Fire headed into this question with a few big questions on their plate. One of those questions was whether or not the club would renew Head Coach Denis Hamlett's contract.

That question was answered Tuesday afternoon, with the team electing to not bring the longtime member of the Fire organization back to Toyota Park.

With the MLS offseason now in full swing it's time for me to start to take a deeper look at the European game. That's a task that I plan on really kicking off this weekend and there really isn't a better time to do so -- as there is a full slate of fantastic matches on the table for all of us to enjoy.

It's a huge day on the table for all of us soccer fans out here with several tremendous matches to pick from.

The big-time London 'derby' (that one was for all you Brits out there...) of Arsenal-Chelsea (10 a.m. CDT, FSC) opens things up this Sunday but that's just a teaser of the day's main course, Barcelona v.

The Fire and Marco Pappa have come to terms on a new deal to keep the 21-year-old winger at Toyota Park through 2012.

Pappa, who had been on loan to the Fire from Guatemalan team CSD Municipal, had his league option exercised and will join a growing group of out-of-contract players returning to Bridgeview for the 2010 season.

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances I will be unable to make it to the Globe this morning. However, I wanted to let all of you know of my plans for the day. I'll be posting a piece after the World Cup Draw is over and possibly a Fire related column after that so be sure to check back throughout the day.

Manchester City and Chelsea face off today in the Premier League's bi-annual battle for the title of "Wealthiest team in Britain." City has lost 8 straight to Chelsea and Mark Hughes's boys will be hoping that they'll be able to cash in a victory against Didier Drogba and the Blues.

For a full list of games you can click here.

The best of today's games feature Fulham-Sunderland (9 a.m. on Setanta Sports), Everton-Tottenham (10 a.m. on FSC), and one of the most intense rivalries in the world, Roma-Lazio (1:45 p.m. on FSC). Hopefully the Roma-Lazio game doesn't end with any rioting this time around, but you never know what will happen when the two Roman sides go at it.

Always stylish former Fire defender Bakary Soumare has graciously agreed to answer some questions from you guys.

I'm guessing the 24-year-old Soumare, who transferred from the Fire to French Ligue 1 side Boulogne back in August, will have a good deal to say about his time at Boulogne (where he has become entrenched in the starting lineup), the dismissal of Denis Hamlett (who he infamously fought with at halftime of his final game with the Fire), and much more, so ask away.

I'll be talking with Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas later on this morning and posting a story about the remainder of the Fire's offseason after the interview. Until then I'll leave you with a couple of MLS/USA related links.
The Red Bulls officially named Norwegian Erik Soler as their new General Manager and Sporting Director yesterday.

It goes without saying that it's been a busy first three weeks of the offseason for Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas.

Parting ways with former head coach Denis Hamlett, seeing Chris Rolfe and Cuauhtemoc Blanco leave the team, and retaining Brian McBride, C.J. Brown and Marco Pappa for 2010 (and beyond in the case of Pappa) are only some of the moves that Klopas has made this offseason.

Former Fire defender Bakary Soumare was kind enough to take some time to answer some of your questions. Here are his responses:

First, we miss you and it's no surprise that you are starting now. What do you miss most about Chicago and your teammates? What are the most fun and most challenging parts of being with your new squad?

Depth.

You could call it "the" word of 2009 for the Chicago Fire. Whether it was Technical Director Frank Klopas, a coach, a player, or a regular staffer, you couldn't get out of Toyota Park without having to sit through yet another explanation of just how important - and strong - the depth of the team was.

L.A. Galaxy and U.S. National Team forward Landon Donovan is close to signing a short-term loan deal that would send him to Everton of the English Premier League. Soccer By Ives is reporting that the deal is already done, despite the Galaxy issuing a statement last night that no deal has been made and Everton manager David Moyes saying it's not quite done yet.

Here are a few updates to close out your week with...
Fire interview Fraser
According to Steve Goff, the Fire had an interview with Real Salt Lake assistant Robin Fraser this past week.
Fraser, who will turn 43 in a week, played 10 years in MLS, winning the defender of the year award in 1999 and 2004.

Manchester United take on Aston Villa (12 p.m. Fox Sports Espanol) and Valencia takes on Real Madrid (3 p.m. ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com) in two of the day's better games. The Barcelona derby is also today, with Messi, Ibrahmovic and co. taking on Espanyol (1 p.m. on GolTV).

On a complete side note, Fire forward Brian McBride was interviewed for SI.

I started watching soccer - seriously watching soccer - in the summer of 2002. I was 12 years old, living in Florida and already nutty about playing the game. But I had never paid any attention to the actual professional product on the field. I had heard of Zidane, Ronaldo and some of the bigger American names but I couldn't begin to tell anyone what club team they played for, let alone the what traits they possessed on the field.

I wrote yesterday about my desire to see the Fire transform from a team that relies on the long ball to one that can use a more possession based buildup while attacking.

It appears (wink, wink) that Frank Klopas was reading...

"First of all, the goal of the organization is to win a championship.

I'll be back later on today with a full post, but here are some links to kick start your day.

The US Soccer Federation announced yesterday that the team will conclude its annual January training camp with a friendly against Honduras at the Home Depot Center. The match will take place on January 23rd -- which is a non-FIFA fixture date.

Yesterday afternoon was a busy one in the world of soccer. I didn't update then, so we're getting caught up now...

In an announcement that certainly surprised me (just take a look at yesterday's morning links for proof...), Landon Donovan has signed a new deal with the L.A. Galaxy which will keep him at the club through 2013.