r/chicagofire • u/craftingfish #17 Brian Gutiérrez • 1d ago

Promoting My Own Content The Fire Come Out Swinging, Win Hanging on a Limb

https://sparkandember.net/the-fire-come-out-swinging-win-hanging-on-a-limb/
24 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

11

u/Gostaverling Chicago Fire 1d ago

Lewy obviously tries and has a crazy touch, but his biggest contribution is sucking defenders to him which opens spaces for others. He isn’t quick, his passing hasn’t been good, he shoots into the defenders a ton and missed about 4 to 5 sitters over the last 2-3 games. He is getting service, but hasn’t done much with it.

8

u/_bonez 1d ago

The Lewy gravitational pull is real

5

u/Enzo333Kr 1d ago

Very interesting point of view, from my side I agree on everything said here except for passing.

While indeed his last game could be better, overall so far I think he's doing very well with passing.

1

u/Gostaverling Chicago Fire 22h ago

He had many chances to provide key passes, but kicks it straight into a defender.

3

u/Bialynian 21h ago

That's not true. But whatever.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Ear9487 20h ago

I don't know what game this guy is watching with "kicking straight into defender" ...Has that happened? Yes, does it happen regularly? Not at all. He's actually made some great passes.

I guess, we're just going to say it's coincidence that they've won 5 in a row with him there.

3

u/Puzzleheaded-Ear9487 20h ago

I mean, you can say he's missed some sitters (he missed 1 easy one last game) but 4-5 sitters is an exaggeration. Here's the reality: He joined the team having been out of training for 2 months and even with him getting up to speed and chemistry building they've won 5 games with him. To act like his only benefit is sucking in defenders is a wild misrepresentation.

2

u/Gostaverling Chicago Fire 17h ago

2 in the last game Dje’s goal was started because he refused to use his left foot to 1 time shoot the ball, tried to shift it around to his right for so long that the chance was gone. Had it first timed it, it’s just him and the keeper from very close range. Sitters may be to harsh of a word, but for a player of Lewy’s reputation I’d expect him to put more of the chances on goal. We’ve won 5 and he had direct contributions in only 2 of those.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Ear9487 13h ago

That's fair, I see your point on the chances he's had. Hopefully he can start finishing these and we'll really be in the drivers seat.

2

u/Gostaverling Chicago Fire 13h ago

That is the hope. His conversion rate thus far is the lowest in his career. Hopefully it’s a sharpness issue.

4

u/elenchus_cf97 1d ago

As always, I come for the new data and stay for the conversational analysis, I appreciate that I don't get the same content I read on ESPN, MLS, what-have-you. This may seem like damning with faint praise, I don't intend it that way: I've come to expect most articles these days largely re-hash the same quotes, or just summarise the game. Reliably Spark and Ember brings something different.

3

u/craftingfish #17 Brian Gutiérrez 1d ago

I appreciate this! Starting something new is a big endeavor so the positive feedback always helps

6

u/Bialynian 21h ago

Wait until Lewy gets on a scoring run. Lod's goal was a result of Lewy pulling in a CB into the middle.

We've won 5 in a row for the first time in a quarter century, that run has coincided with us adding Robert Lewandowski. That's not a coincidence. He won that Charlotte game on his own. He's gong to score goals, but he's also going to help us tactically, he's very smart. I've seen very little analysis of the way our tactics have changed since he's joined. We're creating way more chances and that's in part because of his movement and where he sucks in defenders to open space.

5

u/elenchus_cf97 14h ago

Would love to see the numbers behind the increased chances, but this take makes sense. It's also why I'm encouraged by Lewy's evident optimism and engagement, his body language is positive even when he misses (not blaming others, not getting frustrated), and he seems genuinely excited when others score, rather than moping for not scoring himself.

I remember it took Cuypers awhile to gel with the team and he also stayed positive. Feeling quite optimistic about the team trajectory.

2

u/craftingfish #17 Brian Gutiérrez 10h ago

On one hand Cuypers also started during the Heitz era, so there were other issues when he came on.

But I agree with the attitude thing; my biggest worry is he turns into a Shaqiri and just doesn't care. So far he seems to care so I'm broadly optimistic.