The Fire have issued a release promising a "major player announcement" tomorrow. I'm not sure yet if it's a new addition or an announcement regarding a current player's status.

I'm guessing the press conference hasn't been called to announce the signing of Bratislav Ristic.

If there is such a thing as an American soccer icon, Brian McBride is it. Before Landon Donovan and last minute heroics, there was McBride paving the way as an example of how the game should be played. Fearless and relentless, he was also the very first draft pick in the inaugural MLS draft.

San Jose is still fighting for their playoff lives and the Fire are just hoping to salvage something from 2010 before some difficult decisions will need to be made. The pill becomes harder to swallow after acknowleding the fact that former Fire 'keeper Jon Busch is now the main man in goal for the Earthquakes and Tim Ward is the starting right back.

The Fire have announced a series of unique incentives for becoming a 2011 season ticket holder including free parking, discounted merchandise and concessions, a 12 month payment plan, and even some price reductions. You can read the the details here.

The plan is a pretty impressive attempt to increase the season ticket holder base considering the economic climate and the fact that other professional sports operations in Chicago are considering increasing ticket prices while attendance begins to falter and the product continues to be abysmal (I'm looking at you Ricketts and McCaskey).

The Fire have reached a point in the season where every match is critical and positive results are required in order to reach the MLS Cup playoffs. The Galaxy come into this weekend's match up struggling to regain the form that currently has them at the top of the MLS table. LA has lost three of their last four MLS matches beginning with the 3-2 loss to the Fire on August 1.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Kinney, Brown, Conde, Segares

M Nyarko, Thorrington, Pause, Banner

F Castillo, McBride

Subs : Dykstra, Krol, Watson-Siriboe, Bone, Carr, Husidic, John

Galaxy

GK Ricketts

D Franklin, Gonzalez, Leonardo, Dunivant

M Bowen, Kovalenko, Kirovski, Cazumba

F Donovan, Buddle

Subs : Saunders, DeLaGarza, Klein, Lewis, Stephens, Jordan, Magee

Another day, another late gut punch goal. This time the Fire can take some solace in knowing that they played 70 minutes down a man against one of the top sides in MLS and even took the lead in the 88th minute on a fantastically taken Collins John free kick.

Unfortunately, Omar Gonzalez' header in extra time continued the frustrating tendency to allow late goals making a playoff push even more difficult.

This match is about as close to a must win as any MLS September contest can be. Toronto FC, winless in their last four MLS matches, is currently sitting in 10th place only two points ahead of the Fire in the race for the final MLS wildcard playoff spots. TFC has only eight matches remaining and only three of those are at home where the Canadian side has been very difficult to beat.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Kinney, Brown, Robinson

M Nyarko, Pause, Thorrington, Banner

F Ljungberg, John, Castillo

Subs: Dykstra, Conde, Krol, Bone, Husidic, Carr, McBride

Toronto

GK Frei

D Usanov, Harden, Cann, Attakora

M Peterson, de Guzman, Gargan, LaBrocca

F DeRosario, White

Subs: Conway, Garcia, Hscanovics, Henry, Santos, Gala, Nane

In yet another night of missed opportunities, the Fire squandered one of the "games in hand" against their playoff competitors by dueling to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home against a team with a 1-8-1 road record.

The Fire's best opportunity to score went out the window when Freddie Ljungberg somehow missed a clear 1v1 break away chance against Stefan Frei in the 48th minute.

The Fire head into Philadelphia facing another must win situation. After consecutive draws that felt like losses the team should realize that time is quickly running out if they are to make a run for one of the remaining possible playoff spots. The first contest between the two sides resulted in a 2-1 Fire victory that Union manager Peter Nowak was not happy with.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Kinney, Robinson, Conde, Umanzor

M Nyarko, Pause, Husidic, Ljungberg

F John, Castillo

Subs: Dykstra, Krol, Banner, Watson-Siriboe, Bone, Lowry, Carr

Union

GK Knighton

D Williams, Orozco-Fiscal, Califf, Harvey

M Miglioranzi, Jacobson, Mapp, LeToux

F Mwanga, Moreno

Subs: Seitz, Arrieta, Okugo, Nakazawa, Salinas, Fred, McInerney

After a disjointed and sloppy first half that saw miscommunication in the back and a shocking inability to complete more than 2 consecutive passes, the Fire came into the second appearing to finally realize that the season was on the line. A more spirited effort in the second 45 still did not provide a score and the team with two designated players on the pitch becomes the first side to be shut out this season by Philadelphia.

The Fire will catch a bit of a break this coming Saturday. Real Salt Lake playmaker Javier Morales has been suspended for this weekend's match up because of a knee to the midsection of Seattle's Osvaldo Alonso. The foul was missed by the officiating crew on the field but the MLS Disciplinary Committee caught it afterwards.

The final MLS roster deadline closes tomorrow at 4 pm and the Fire currently have one roster spot open. After the release of Stefan Dimitrov on August 27, the team has opted to continue with 23 senior roster players available for selection. Homegrown talent Victor Pineda was signed on August 17 but does not count toward the maximum roster limit of 24.

Almost two months after being added to the SuperLiga roster in July, Bratislav Ristic has finally been signed to a contract by the Fire. Ristic is a central midfielder with pace who can also play on the wings. The Fire's official press release has probably been on ice for quite some time.

Training was definitely fiery and intense this morning as the team seems to finally realize that it's facing the possibility of missing the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. A full scrimmage followed by some spirited discussion is a good sign that the team is not taking things lightly, but the question remains whether the side can gel together in time to salvage the season.

New Fire team President Julian Posada addressed the media via conference call this morning and shed some light on his vision for the franchise, how he became involved as a candidate for the position, and how he plans to increase the Fire's visibility in a crowded Chicago sports landscape.

• When asked if his emphasis will be on the hispanic community given his background, Posada responded by pointing out that this is only one of the markets that follow soccer and his involvement with spanish speaking outlets was more chance than anything else.

With only eight matches remaining in the 2010 season it's do or die time for the Chicago Fire. The team's failure to pick up wins against Toronto and Philadelphia last week places even more importance on their ability to pick up points against top teams like RSL. There seemed to be a ramped up sense of urgency around the team this week as the "games in hand" advantage begins to disappear.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Robinson, Brown, Conde, Segares

M Pause, Ristic, Pappa, Ljungberg

F John, Castillo

Subs: Dykstra, Watson-Siriboe, Umanzor, Banner, Nyarko, Husidic, Carr

RSL

GK Rimando

D Wingert, Borchers, Olave, Beltran

M Beckerman, Grabavoy, Johnson, Williams

F Saborio, Findley

Subs: Reynish, Araujo, Gonzalez, Alexandre, Russell, Schuler, Campos

The Fire continue to shoot themselves in the foot by not giving themselves an opportunity to succeed. Late goals allowed, sloppy defending, and listless offensive displays have been a staple of the team's 2010 season so far. Today's match was no different. This time Wilman Conde was again the culprit.

The Fire don't return to full training until Wednesday ahead of the weekend re-match with Seattle Sounders. Seattle, however has a Champion's League match in Mexico against Monterrey on Wednesday night. The game is a must win since Chicago is now a full ten points behind Seattle for the eighth and final spot with two games still in hand.

The Fire returned to training today amid the realization that making the playoffs at this point will take something short of a miracle. Carlos De Los Cobos called the task "very difficult" but not impossibe. "Every week we talk and I tell you unfortunately the same thing. We're having mistakes, we lose concentration and make a big mistake like we did the other day.

This match could very well be the last gasp effort in this season's attempt at any success and a late playoff run. Win and whatever slim hopes of postseason play are kept alive another day. Lose or draw and any realistic chances of capturing the eighth and final playoff spot are out the window. Seattle defeated the Fire 2-1 on a late Fredy Montero goal on August 28.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Ristic, Brown, Watson-Siriboe, Segares

M Nyarko, Thorrington, Pause, Pappa

F Carr, Ljungberg

Subs: Dykstra, Robinson, Umanzor, Bone, Husidic, John, McBride

Sounders

K Keller

D Riley, Ianni, Parke, Gonzalez

M Nyassi, Alonso, Sturgis, Zakuani

F Montero, Nkufo

Subs: Boss, Marshall, Scott, Fernandez, Seamon, Fucito, Levesque

The finish to this match couldn't have been a more appropriate or fitting end for a team that has piled frustration on top of frustration for the better part of the past six months. An 88th minute deflected goal by Blaise Nkufo is probably the final nail in the coffin for any playoffs hopes in 2010.

Headed to San Jose with not much more than pride on the line, the Fire are saddled with another batch of possible injury issues. Freddie Ljungberg, Bratislav Ristic, and Gonzalo Segares were all held out of a short training session this morning before boarding a plane for California (read Sam Stejskal's wrap up here).

Section 8 has three days of activities planned around the Fire's thirteenth anniversary on October 8 including a pre-game tailgate and a supporter's match at 3pm. I'm seriously thinking of dusting off my boots, playing in the game, allowing a last minute goal, and taking a red card in honor of this year's Fire.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Kinney, Watson-Siriboe, Robinson, Krol

M Ristic, Pause, Thorrington, Pappa

F Ljungberg, Carr

Subs: Dykstra, Brown, Lowry, John, McBride, Nyarko, Conde

Earthquakes

GK Busch

D Leitch, McDonald, Hernandez, Ward

M Wondolowski, Cronin, Stephenson, Convey

F Geovanni, Johnson

Subs: Edwards, Burling, Ring, Alvarez, Sealy, Glen, Eduardo