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Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson has noted in the past that he relates closely with Tim Howard's style of play in the goal.

Now Johnson will train alongside the U.S. National Team and Everton goalkeeper.

The Fire announced on their official site Thursday that Johnson is taking part in a week-long training session at Everton's Finch Farm training ground starting this Sunday and running through Dec. 10.

"For a young goalkeeper like Sean, it's great that he's continuing to train and develop in the offseason," Fire head coach Frank Klopas said. "He'll be in a different environment where he can learn from a talented 'keeper in Tim Howard and go up against Premier League players. It benefits us as much as it does for him to have that experience."

The Fire said that schedule concerns prevented Johnson from training with Manchester United, which was noted as a possibility among various reports about a month ago.

The 22-year-old Johnson is coming off his second season with the Fire. He posted a 9-7-12 record with seven shutouts and 76 saves in 2011.

Johnson was selected by the Fire in the fourth round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft and he was thrust into a starting role for Chicago in the second half of his rookie season.

Johnson currently is the only goalkeeper on the Fire's roster as the team made Jon Conway and Alec Dufty available for the upcoming MLS Re-Entry Draft.

In the coming weeks, the Chicago Fire should be announcing an abundance of player options that they are picking up heading into 2012. The Fire have yet to officially state the return of midfielder Pavel Pardo or comment on other players' contract status, but in all likelihood a large portion of the 2011 squad should be on board next season.

"We're still going through that and evaluating the whole season," Fire head coach Frank Klopas said Tuesday. "We've worked very hard to bring a lot of players and feel good with the base that we've built."

So pending the formality of the team announcing the return of much of its roster, Klopas is focused on an overseas trip to find potential talent to fill in some gaps and build off the momentum that Chicago had in the latter half of the previous season.

"We're way ahead of where we were last year as an organization," Klopas said. "We've worked hard to build relationships and find the kinds of players who fit in here financially and with the characteristics of this league."

Klopas departs on a two-week scouting trek starting this Saturday. Klopas said that he's bound for Switzerland, Germany and Spain, where he will meet with Atletico Madrid.

"I'm going to spend some time with them and look for some options," Klopas said. "This trip, I'm looking at a forward and also some midfield players."

As far as the attacking side, Klopas said he is looking for a versatile and mobile option that would complement Dominic Oduro's speed up top.

"We're looking at someone who can play with depth and into space," Klopas said. "We don't want someone that's going to be in the box only. We want some mobility -- someone who is good with his feet."

Back in September, the Fire announced a strategic partnership with Atletico Madrid, Sport Club Internacional and Club America. The Fire have had close ties with Club America already, but now Chicago hopes to see the scope of player options expand a bit with this partnership.

"With America we've had an ongoing relationship that's been a good one," Klopas said. "It was a situation where we followed Pavel [Pardo] when he was there. Now we have opportunities to do more things. The Madrid partnership is one that we started and look to continue to grow. I'll spend some time there with their staff, watch the first team and some of their younger players and evaluate them. It's important to spent time with the people and it's also important for them to better understand our league."

Husidic, backup GKs' options not picked up: The Fire announced Tuesday that they are not picking up the options toward midfielder Baggio Husidic and backup goalkeepers Jon Conway and Alec Dufty. All three players will be available in the MLS Re-Entry Draft on Dec. 5 and 12. Husidic, who locally played for Libertyville High School and then the University of Illinois-Chicago, was coming off his third season with the Fire.

"It's never an easy decision," Klopas said. "At the end of the day you want to be in a position to win and improve the team. Last year we worked very hard to create a good base to build on, and unfortunately you have to make some tough decisions."

With the absence of their two backup goalkeepers, clearly there is a focus on filling that void to find some able bodies and experience behind regular starter Sean Johnson. With Conway and Dufty included, there are nine goalkeepers in the re-entry draft.

"There will be opportunities in the re-entry draft to look at some good goalkeepers, for sure," Klopas said. "So we're looking into that. We want to get someone who brings experience. Sean is someone who is young but is maturing over time."

Chicago has the eighth pick among the 19 teams in the re-entry draft.

The Chicago Fire will play in their earliest regular-season home opener when they kick off their 2012 Major League Soccer campaign.

The Fire and other MLS teams announced their 2012 home dates on Tuesday, and Chicago hosts a match at Toyota Park on March 24. Opponents and time slots will be announced at a later date.

It marks the second straight year that Chicago has hosted a March home opener. The Fire topped Sporting Kansas City, 3-2, on March 26 this past season at Toyota Park.

The Fire's earliest Chicago-based game to date included a 4-0 win over SJ Jabloteh on March 24, 2004, in a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal match in front of 6,143 at Soldier Field. Dipsy Selolwane had two goals and an assist for the Fire as they won the series on aggregate, 6-5.

Over their previous 14 seasons, the Fire have posted an 8-3-3 record in home openers.

Chicago is coming off its second straight playoff-less season. The Fire were 9-9-16 (43 points) in 2011 after posting a late-season surge but winding up several points outside of a postseason berth.

The 2012 MLS season features 19 teams and a 34-game regular-season schedule. The Montreal Impact joins the league, and head coach Jesse Marsch's side hosts its home opener on March 17. The Houston Dynamo opens its new 22,000-seat stadium on May 12.

2012 MLS home opener dates:
Week 1
Saturday, March 10: Colorado Rapids, D.C. United, Los Angeles Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Sunday, March 11: Chivas USA, FC Dallas
Monday, March 12: Portland Timbers

Week 2
Saturday, March 17: Sporting Kansas City, Montreal Impact, Real Salt Lake
Sunday, March 18: Philadelphia Union

Week 3
Saturday, March 24: Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Toronto FC
Sunday, March 25: New York Red Bulls

Week 10
Saturday, May 12: Houston Dynamo (new stadium opener)

Any concerns over losing a portion of the Chicago Fire's roster were put to rest as the Montreal Impact made 10 selections outside of the Fire's unprotected player pool during Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft.

Former Fire midfielder and Impact head coach Jesse Marsch inherits a franchise that selected former Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching with the top pick in the draft. Despite reports that Ching said he would retire if selected in the expansion draft, the Impact took him No. 1 anyway.

The Impact's third selection was former Fire midfielder Justin Mapp out of the Philadelphia Union. Mapp started in 24 of 29 games this past season, tallying three goals and four assists.

Chicago entered the expansion draft with a trio of defenders who had nine or more starts during the 2011 season -- right back Dan Gargan and center backs Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta. But the Impact focused elsewhere and the Fire's roster stays intact heading into the offseason.

Last year the Fire lost midfielders John Thorrington and Peter Lowry in the expansion draft to the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers, respectively. They played a combined 14 games and did not log a goal or an assist during the 2011 season.

The Impact brings the league to 19 franchises for the 2012 campaign. On Wednesday, Montreal selected seven-year veteran defender/midfielder James Riley with its ninth pick, but then traded Riley to Chivas USA for forward Justin Braun and midfielder Gerson Mayen. The Impact took 20-year-old Chivas defender and 2011 first-round draft pick Zarek Valentin with its second selection in the expansion draft.

Impact's 2011 MLS Expansion Draft selections: 1. Brian Ching (F, Houston Dynamo); 2. Zarek Valentin (D, Chivas USA); 3. Justin Mapp (M, Philadelphia Union); 4. Bobby Burling (D, San Jose Earthquakes); 5. Jeb Brovsky (M, Vancouver Whitecaps); 6. Collen Warner (M, Real Salt Lake); 7. Josh Gardner (D, Columbus Crew); 8. Sanna Nyassi (M, Colorado Rapids); 9. James Riley* (D, Seattle Sounders); 10. Seth Sinovic (D, Sporting Kansas City)

* Traded to Chivas USA for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen

The Chicago Fire and other Major League Soccer teams submitted their 11-player protected lists Monday in preparation for Wednesday's MLS Expansion Draft for the Montreal Impact.

Among some of the Fire's noteworthy players left unprotected are forward Diego Chaves, midfielder Daniel Paladini, and defenders Dan Gargan, Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta.

Fire's 11-player protected list: Sean Johnson (GK), Cory Gibbs (D), Jalil Anibaba (D), Gonzalo Segares (D), Pavel Pardo (M), Logan Pause (M), Marco Pappa (M), Sebastian Grazzini (M), Orr Barouch (F), Patrick Nyarko (F/M), Dominic Oduro (F)

Unprotected list (available for Impact selection): Jon Conway (GK), Alec Dufty (GK), Yamith Cuesta (D), Dan Gargan (D), Steven Kinney (D), Josip Mikulic (D), Pari Pantazopoulos (D), Mike Banner (M), Michael Videira (M), Daniel Paladini M), Baggio Husidic (M), Cristian Nazarit (F), Gabriel Ferrari (F), Diego Chaves (F)

Exempt from selection (Generation adidas or homegrown status): Corben Bone (M), Kellen Gulley (F), Victor Pineda (M)

Impact head coach and former Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch certainly will have his share of player options to choose from.

Chaves came to the Fire with high expectations, but it is not too surprising that he was left unprotected heading into the expansion draft. Chaves had a good start and decent finish to the 2011 season with six goals. But Chaves went through a long goal-less stretch and saw his playing time dwindle.

Gargan was a key midseason acquisition for the Fire during the 2011 campaign, adding stability to a back line that was short on outside back options. His name typically was third on the midseason hierarchy mention, with midfielders Sebastian Grazzini and Pavel Pardo grabbing most of the attention. But Gargan filled the right back role quite well. His absence from the Fire's 11-man list probably stands out the most, so it would not be out of the question to see the 28-year-old Gargan bound for Montreal. Gargan has become a bit of an MLS journeyman since the Colorado Rapids drafted him in 2005.

There are a number of ways that Montreal could look upon the Fire's roster, and it appears that Chicago is most willing to part with someone on the defensive end. Along with Gargan, center backs Mikulic and Cuesta both posted plenty of starting minutes for the Fire this past season. The 22-year-old Cuesta had 18 starts and 1,681 minutes, and the 25-year-old Mikulic had 12 starts and 1,038 minutes.

Last year the Fire lost a pair of midfielders in John Thorrington (Vancouver Whitecaps) and Peter Lowry (Portland Timbers), and Montreal could go in that direction this year. Paladini is a viable option, having earned 16 starts this year for Chicago. University of Illinois-Chicago product and 2009 draft pick Baggio Husidic also was left unprotected. The third-year midfielder is coming off a season that included zero goals and two assists, but Montreal might see some potential if Husidic returned to the five-goal, three-assist performance that he logged in 2010.

Landon Donovan netted a 72nd-minute goal and the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, on Sunday to win the MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Galaxy earned its third MLS Cup, previously winning in 2002 and 2005.

The Galaxy, which dominated in possession for much of the night, finally broke the stalemate as Donovan's shot actually deflected off of Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall's left glove. But the deflection was not enough to push the ball away from the frame as it rolled inside the right post for the one-goal lead. David Beckham -- perhaps playing in his final MLS match -- and then Robbie Keane set up Donovan's tally.

"Whether I stay or not, I've had an amazing five years," Beckham said to ESPN's Rob Stone following the match. "The fans have been unbelievable. The owners have been unbelievable. The players, every one of them are heroes tonight. We've been incredible all season, and this capped it off."

Los Angeles had more than its share of scoring chances, especially in the first half. Much of the focus in the first 45 minutes was on Galaxy forward Adam Cristman's opportunities.

Cristman, who filled in for former Chicago Fire forward Chad Barrett (dislocated his ankle in training), had three strong chances, starting with a 12th-minute header off of a Beckham corner kick. Cristman was unmarked in the middle of the box, but his header went wide right. In the 27th minute, Cristman's header went over the goal as Beckham set him up. And in the 28th, the Galaxy tried to take advantage of a Dynamo turnover, but Cristman lost his footing on another potential scoring chance. Chris Birchall replaced Cristman early in the second half.

The only first-half strike that went on goal came from the Dynamo's Danny Cruz, whose 44th-minute shot went directly to Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

In the 57th minute, Keane thought he had the game's first goal. But he was ruled offside, even though replays showed that he was level with the Dynamo's Geoff Cameron.

Former Fire forward and Dynamo starter Calen Carr did not show up much in the final third. But he did help in the Houston buildup that eventually led to an Adam Moffat header that went wide right of the goal in the 66th minute. Carr was replaced by Carlos Costly after that sequence.

In the waning moments of the match, Beckham took a free kick about two minutes into second-half stoppage time. Beckham's strike went toward the upper right corner of the frame, but Hall batted the ball aside.

2012 schedule changes benefit Fire: The Fire struggled mightily against Western Conference teams this past season with a 3-8-7 record, compared to a very respectable 6-1-9 mark against their fellow Eastern Conference sides.

The days of a balanced schedule will come to a close with the Montreal Impact joining MLS as the league's 19th team next year. There will be some significant changes within the league in both the regular season and postseason.

The Impact, coached by former Fire midfielder Jesse Marsch, will become the 10th Eastern Conference team. Next year during the regular season, each Eastern Conference side will play a total of 25 conference matches and nine matches against West teams within the 34-game schedule.

Next year's playoffs also will no longer include a neutral championship site, though this year worked out completely in the Galaxy's favor at The Home Depot Center. Moving forward, the championship match will be played at the home venue of the participating team with a higher regular-season points total. Another big playoff change will feature a two-leg series in the Eastern and Western Conference Championships instead of a single match, a format that has been in place for the past nine seasons.

Carolina Challenge Cup schedule set: Recently the Charleston Battery announced the 2012 Carolina Challenge Cup tournament schedule in which the Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C. United and host Charleston are participating.

The Fire open the tournament against D.C. on Feb. 25 (4 p.m. CT kickoff), followed by a match against the Crew on Feb. 29 (4 p.m.) and the Batter on March 3 (6:15 p.m.).

Former Chicago Fire head coach Bob Bradley, coaching for the first time since his tenure with the U.S. National Team, saw his Egyptian national team debut end in a 2-0 loss to Brazil on Monday in Doha, Qatar.

Brazilian forward Jonas netted goals in the 39th and 59th minutes to pace his side past Egypt.

Bradley last coached the U.S. to a 4-2 loss to Mexico in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup final in front of 93,000-plus at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

The U.S. MNT fired Bradley on July 28, and during his tenure Bradley posted a 43-25-12 record and advanced to the 2010 FIFA World Cup's Round of 16. One day after Bradley's dismissal, Jurgen Klinsmann was named the U.S.'s new head coach.

Osorio to coach Puebla: Former Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio will lead Mexican first division's Puebla in late November.

Osorio, who coached during the second half of the Fire's 2007 campaign, will depart Colombian club Once Caldas and guide a Puebla team that includes former Fire midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.

Oduro third in Comeback voting: Fire forward Dominic Oduro finished third in the 2011 MLS Comeback Player of the Year voting. On Monday the league announced Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham as this year's award winner, followed by D.C. United's Charlie Davies and Oduro.

Oduro did receive the top percentage of votes among the MLS club voting at 18.1 percent, followed by the Houston Dynamo's Geoff Cameron (17.2) and Beckham (17.0). The Ghanaian forward made his presence felt with the Fire this year after posting a career-high and team-high 12 goals.

"With a new team you've got to prove yourself, and I think I did," Oduro said. "It paid off on the field. I tried to do all the right things, and I have to go back to my teammates who helped me out, through hard work and dedication."

Bocanegra nears 100 caps: Former Fire defender and U.S. National Team captain Carlos Bocanegra should earn his 100th international cap on Tuesday when the U.S. faces host Slovenia at 11 a.m. CT at Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia (ESPN2).

Bocanegra is sitting on 99 caps following the U.S.'s 1-0 loss to France on Friday, and with his next appearance Bocanegra will become the 12th player in U.S. history to reach the century mark. The two-time MLS Defender of the Year made his U.S. debut on Dec. 9, 2002, against Korea.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire capped off their final training session on Thursday, and now the focus squarely shifts toward head coach Frank Klopas' club making the necessary moves to improve their fate for 2012.

The Fire, who posted a 9-9-16 record and put together a winning record in the final third of the season, anticipate that a bulk of this year's team will be retained for next season. That would be a big change of pace considering how hectic the player movement was after the 2010 campaign.

"We did a lot of that last year," Klopas said of the previous personnel changes. "Obviously we have to look to get better. With the expansion draft (Nov. 23, Montreal Impact) there's a possibility that you might lose a player there. Like any team you're looking to get better. I think we feel very good with the base that we have. Now we've got to continue to build on that, and that's the important thing."

Klopas spent much of Thursday's post-training fielding questions regarding whether key players within the 2011 roster will definitely be back next season.

As of now, midfielder Marco Pappa is under contract through the 2012 season, and midfielder Sebastian Grazzini's one-year contract goes through July of next year. The same tone remains with midfielder Pavel Pardo, who wants to return and the organization wants to see return. But an extension is not set at the moment.

Klopas said that Ghanaian forwards Patrick Nyarko and Dominic Oduro were set with the team for the 2012 season, though the players have not echoed that sentiment.

"It will be up to management to see if I'm coming back or not," Oduro said on Thursday.

"I have another team option for next year that hasn't been picked up," Nyarko said last week. "They have to let me know by Dec. 1, so I'll wait on that."

So there clearly is plenty of work needed in solidifying the pieces for next year, but the overall feeling among the organization is that it wants the core group intact.

"I would love it if management keeps the team because as you saw in the last 10 games we had a great record," Oduro said. "We lost only two games out of those 10, which is pretty impressive. We had it together. So it would be nice to have everybody back. At the same time, you always need one or two players to fill in some gaps, and I think we should be fine."

Reports have recently surfaced regarding the possibility of goalkeeper Sean Johnson going on a trial with Manchester United and forward Orr Barouch heading to Maccabi Haifa (Israeli Premier League). While Klopas did not confirm the validity of those potential moves happening, he does anticipate Fire players in the future training elsewhere to maintain an active offseason.

"In the future, we're going to be doing more things like this because we do have relationships now with other clubs," Klopas said. "With some of the players I think it's important for their growth to be in an environment where they continue to train. We'll be looking to do more things like that with some of our players who want to, because it is a long break."

For a second straight preseason, the Chicago Fire will take part in the Carolina Challenge Cup from Feb. 25 through March 4, 2012.

The event is hosted by the United Soccer Leagues' Charleston Battery and includes the Fire, D.C. United and one other MLS team that has not been determined. The 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup field included Toronto FC.

The Carolina Challenge Cup has been held eight previous times. In the most recent event, the Fire posted a 1-1-1 record in the round-robin competition, defeating Toronto FC, 1-0; falling to D.C. United, 1-0; and playing to a scoreless draw against host Charleston.

It turned out to be a difficult preseason event for Chicago as the Fire played shorthanded in the first two matches. Fire captain Logan Pause was issued a red card in the first half against Toronto and newly acquired forward Diego Chaves was ejected in the first half against D.C.

Oduro up for Comeback honor: Earlier this week, MLS announced that Fire forward Dominic Oduro is up for MLS Comeback Player of the Year. The winner will be announced on Monday.

Oduro is going up against D.C. United's Charlie Davies and the Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham.

The Ghanaian forward had a career season with the Fire this year, earning career highs in goals (12), minutes (2,604), games started (29) and games played (33). His previous career high in goals was five, when he posted that number in 2008 with FC Dallas and in 2010 with the Houston Dynamo.

After one game with the Dynamo in 2011, Houston traded Oduro to Chicago for forward Calen Carr, who is participating in this year's MLS Cup against the Galaxy. Oduro was voted the Fire's most valuable player by the organization and ESPN Chicago.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire have learned at times the hard way that every move has to serve a specific purpose.

Fire owner Andrew Hauptman began Thursday's introduction of now full-time head coach Frank Klopas with an initial dinner meeting the two had before the 2008 season. It ended with Hauptman expressing to Klopas that he wanted him on board that year. But Hauptman did not know right away what that specific role would be.

Following a tough stretch as the team's technical director and then producing a mostly successful interim coaching stint to close out the 2011 season, the results clearly showed that Klopas was best suited to lead the team on the sidelines.

"We made mistakes, we've had some successes, but I think we've all grown a lot along the way," Hauptman said. "This year, when they came to me and said they were going to make a change with the head coach, it made a lot of sense for me at that point for Frank to step in as head coach. I felt like the timing was right. No one really knew the club better than he did. No one knew the players better than he did. And no one understood the possibilities more than he did."

Klopas and the Fire had to mend some errors and failures on the pitch a third of the way into the 2011 campaign. The team made some strides, with Klopas' side posting an 8-5-10 record following the firing of former head coach Carlos de los Cobos.

"The passion that he comes to training with and to games with every day is contagious," Fire defender Dan Gargan said of Klopas. "I think the team is excited to see what he can offer, really in more of a comfortable position."

But it does not get any easier for Klopas as he undertakes this visible role on a permanent basis.

"At any moment you could be playing or you could be gone," Klopas said. "I know the situation, but I feel very confident. And I don't say this in a cocky way -- I can tell you I believe in myself."

As for how the Fire's technical director duties will be handled moving forward, Hauptman said "there's 100 percent likelihood" that another person will come in to fill Klopas' previous role. In the meantime, Javier Leon continues to take on the technical side of things for Hauptman out of Los Angeles. Fire director of player personnel Mike Jeffries occasionally is involved in first-team technical elements, but a bulk of his work is directed toward the Fire's academy system.

The Fire hope they have finally gotten past the massive turnover stage when it comes to both the head coaching position and the player personnel. Gargan, who joined Chicago for the final third of the team's 2011 season, is certainly familiar with experiencing a turnover-heavy environment having come from Toronto FC.

"With the turnover that they've had year after year after year, in five years they've had six coaches," Gargan said. "The number of players that have come through that place, it's mind-boggling. And I think that certain organizations and certain clubs have really seen the way you can consistently win, and that's to keep a good core together and build around that core and not change out 22 guys out of a 30-man roster every single year."

With Klopas staying on board, as long as the bulk of the roster stays intact, there is no need to go through an extensive growing period that would have come about with another coach joining the organization.

"I think with Frank remaining in place and moving forward, there's a certain idea and understanding between him and his staff, which is first and foremost," Gargan said. "Being able to get the players to buy into that and understand where they want to go, that process should be shortened. I don't think that we as a team feel that we've reached a plateau where we're good enough to stop working and stop trying to improve the product that we have. But I think that people in the locker room are excited about the direction that we can go in."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Frank Klopas was picked as the Chicago Fire's head coach on Thursday, five months after he got the job on an interim basis when the Major League Soccer club got off to a bad start.

Read the entire story.

Former Chicago Fire and current Houston Dynamo forward Calen Carr has had his share of injury spells over the past several years. This year it was a concussion that he suffered during the Fire's preseason in February when the team was training in Ave Maria, Fla.

Shortly into this year's regular season, the injured Carr found himself headed to Houston as the Dynamo swapped forwards with the Fire, sending Dominic Oduro to Chicago shortly after Houston's regular-season opener.

Oduro found his shooting touch with the Fire en route to 12 goals in MLS play. Carr needed several more months of healing time before he even had a chance to prove his worth for the Dynamo.

"It's been really frustrating not being able to have a run of games where I can put together a full, healthy season," Carr said. "The concussion, some injuries have been freak injuries -- the knee injury was a freak play. The concussion was a freak injury that I felt it would just take a couple weeks but it took longer than I was expecting. I think I've done a good job of coming back from injuries and putting them behind me. I haven't had as much work this season as I would like, but I'm looking to make the most of it."

Despite missing more than two-thirds of the regular season, Carr stepped up at the right moment on Sunday, netting the Dynamo's second goal in the 30th minute to top the host Philadelphia Union, 2-1, in the first leg of its Eastern Conference Semifinal match at PPL Park. It was Houston's first playoff road victory in the team's history, and now the Dynamo hosts the Union for the second leg on Thursday at Robertson Stadium (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear has turned to Carr for valuable minutes down the stretch. Along with the Game 1 start against Philadelphia, Carr started in four of the Dynamo's final five regular-season matches.

"I'm just trying to stay active," Carr said. "We've got great players who can draw attention. Playing up front with Brian Ching, Brad Davis, they find space and you can stretch the field."

Carr admits the early-season trade out of Chicago was a difficult situation to face, especially having been with the Fire organization from the start of his MLS career in 2006. But there was some sense of familiarity in going into Houston.

"There was a level of comfort coming to the team because I've known Dominic Kinnear," Carr said. "But it was difficult because I was injured and trying to figure out how to get healthy. You want to get acclimated to the team, train and play to get to know the team, and I wasn't able to do that.

"I had a lot of great memories in Chicago -- loved the team, the organization and the city," Carr said. "It was difficult to leave after being there for so long. I felt like this was a great opportunity to come to Houston, another great organization, with a great coach and players. Like any player you also want a chance at competing for an MLS Cup. That's important."

Kinnear has certainly brought that championship-caliber track record, either at the helm or while he was assisting Frank Yallop during the San Jose Earthquakes' 2001 and 2003 title-winning seasons.

"He's a guy that I always admired from watching him when I was in the Bay Area," Carr said of Kinnear. "The success he had with San Jose, winning championships, in my first two years in the league Houston won back-to-back championships. He's been a part of some successful teams and has a great track record of success."

Carr is healthy again and is in the heart of this year's postseason as Houston currently has the upper hand over Philadelphia in trying to advance to the Eastern Conference Final stage.

"The concussion is behind me and I'm feeling really good," Carr said. "The protective headgear is precautionary, more than anything. I feel like my old self."

GK Johnson earns U-23 call-up: Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson was one of 31 players called in to the U.S. U-23 National team's Nov. 7-16 training camp at the Sportschule Wedau in Duisburg, Germany. U-23 head coach Caleb Porter could add more players to the roster based on upcoming MLS playoff matches. Johnson, 22, is coming off his second season with the Fire. He posted seven shutouts and a 9-7-12 record this past season.

The Chicago Fire have scheduled a press conference for Thursday afternoon to announce the sixth coach in the team's history. And while team officials have remained tight-lipped, sources confirmed Wednesday that Frank Klopas is dropping the "interim" tag and taking on the head coaching role full-time heading into the 2012 season.

Klopas and Fire owner Andrew Hauptman will be on hand for Thursday's announcement.

In the interim coaching role, Klopas posted an 8-5-10 record this past season after the firing of Carlos de los Cobos. The Fire missed the playoffs for a second straight season, but Chicago pieced together a strong run that had the team mathematically still in the postseason hunt heading into the final week of the regular season. The Fire also had a runner-up finish in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Klopas was named the Fire's technical director in January 2008. It is plausible that Klopas' technical director duties will stay in the hands of Andell Sports Group managing director Javier Leon and Fire director of player personnel Mike Jeffries.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- More than one week removed from the Chicago Fire's season finale, the team is in its early stages of evaluating a season that came up short of the playoffs.

Fire players continue with their training at the Toyota Park practice field. To date, the team has yet to determine any player options that will be picked up for 2012, and the coaching future will be the offseason's hottest topic until the organization figures out which direction it wants to go -- either staying with Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas, or looking outside for another candidate.

"There's a lot of things going on right now, even with us with training," Klopas said following Friday's training. "There's a lot of things from upper management that's been going on. I know within the next week, for sure, we'll speak about [the coaching situation] and try to come up with the best solution moving forward for the club.

"I really came in thinking one way, but I really enjoyed being on the sidelines and doing this," Klopas said. "So for sure it's on my mind and I'm thinking about it."

Klopas' tone toward the coaching position has changed quite a bit since the team's technical director first took on the interim role after Carlos de los Cobos' firing 11 games into the season.

"You want players to know that that's not what I wanted initially," Klopas said. "Because we brought a guy in and we believed in him. It's not like something was going on behind his back for something like that to happen. So I did it because of the right reasons at that moment.

"I'm a soccer guy. When I stopped playing, you always want to be on the field and be doing what I'm doing now. So we'll see. I definitely have enjoyed it. I just think that what I said was the right thing at that moment."

The team has not confirmed a specific time frame toward making this critical coaching decision. A source told ESPN Chicago that the Fire want to "move very quickly with whatever decision" they make, and that they are taking a similar postseason evaluation process that they underwent following De los Cobos' 2010 season.

But the previous offseason involved much more than what the Fire are anticipating this time around. Heading into the 2011 season the team reconfigured its support coaching staff, removed some dead weight with players such as Nery Castillo and Collins John, had to find replacements for retirees Brian McBride and C.J. Brown, and figure out plenty of other positional changes.

The team has yet to determine which direction Klopas' future will be -- as a coach or a technical director. But according to a source, people within the Fire organization noticed a dramatic change in Klopas' character when he took on the interim role, showing a more "demanding" demeanor and "understanding what the stakes were."

If anything, the writing on the wall appears to favor a coaching future (he was 8-5-10 this year) over a technical future. A source said that Klopas had little knowledge of the business side of the technical director position when he first was brought in, saying that the organization and league do not allow for a trial-and-error approach or a multi-year waiting period for key signings. Unfortunately from the Fire's standpoint and under Klopas' technical watch, several players fell into those categories during the 2010 campaign.

"As long as I'm involved in the game, doing something that I love professionally, it would be great," Klopas said. "For me, more than anything, I still want to be a part of the Fire organization because I grew up in the city here, and it's a fantastic organization."

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The massive offseason overhaul from a year ago is not expected, but there still are important questions following the Chicago Fire's 2011 season.

The head coaching situation will take front and center as Frank Klopas stepped in an interim role to replace Carlos de los Cobos. There is some curiosity as to which players will return next year, particularly midseason midfield signings Pavel Pardo and Sebastian Grazzini. And like any team, there could be some key losses from the November expansion draft.

Fire defender Cory Gibbs thinks the team is in good shape after the organization missed out on the postseason for a second straight year with a 9-9-16 record.

"Minimal tweaking. Minimal tweaking," Gibbs said. "I think Frank stepped in and he has done an exceptional job. I think the core of our group is amazing, not just the [starting] 11. Other people have stepped in and done well. Orr Barouch coming in his first year. Jalil Anibaba has stepped in and was a major signing for us. I just think we have a lot to look forward to for next year in terms of one or two tweaks. Besides that, we're ready to go."

ESPN Chicago dishes out its final grades on the season, but during an inconsistent season with various people stepping into the picture in key roles, it was no easy task:

Coaching: Speaking of key roles, the Fire dismissed De los Cobos with about a third of the season in the books, and the team under Klopas took some time in piecing a run together -- a run that turned out to be too little, too late. Nevertheless, Klopas' efforts were a huge step in the right direction. There was less experimenting and significant lineup juggling, more straight-forward opponent research and preparation, and overall the group appeared like it was on the same wavelength with him at the helm. That sentiment typically was not there with De los Cobos.

The Fire's midseason acquisitions of Grazzini and Pardo no doubt helped Klopas in the team earning an 8-5-10 record with him at the helm. But there is no telling how significant De los Cobos' record would have improved if they were in place at the start of the season.

Klopas made some tactical and personnel decisions that helped the team post-De los Cobos -- pairing Dominic Oduro with Patrick Nyarko up front, eventually getting Anibaba into a center back role instead of right back, man marking over zonal marking, just to name a few. Klopas' strong knowledge of the league, his passion regarding the organization and finally the positive results down the stretch gave him a grade of a B. De los Cobos was a low D. GRADE: C+

Goalkeeping: Second-year goalkeeper Sean Johnson had a slow start to the season that resulted in a six-game benching behind Jon Conway. When he returned, Johnson established some consistency, improved reaction to the ball and some big-time saves along the way.

He and the Fire also posted seven shutouts, starting with a scoreless draw against Seattle Sounders FC on June 4. That was the start of a five-game stretch where Johnson and the defense allowed only one goal.

Johnson is only 22 years old, but he has been a major contributor toward this club since midway through his rookie season. Things continue to look up for this fourth-round selection in the 2010 draft. GRADE: B

Defense: Other than Gonzalo Segares at left back (and he started the preseason in the midfield), it was a brand new back line as Chicago lost its starting center backs from the previous season and right back Steven Kinney was hurt all year. Veteran center back Gibbs was asked from the start to lead this young group.

Naturally there were some growing pains, including some brutal road losses against the expansion Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. But as the Fire put together their late run, they also figured out a dependable back line to go with on a regular basis. The Fire's trade with Toronto FC to attain Dan Gargan proved to be the final piece as Anibaba shifted back to his more customary center back position.

Chicago did not have a banner season in the back, but there were some positives moving forward. Anibaba appears to be the real deal, and center back looks strong as a whole. But the Fire might need to explore another outside back option to add some depth. GRADE: C

Midfield: The effectiveness of Pardo and Grazzini changed the dynamic of this team significantly. For a full season, there would have been a huge comfort factor in having this duo in every match to provide a high level of control and create chances. Before their arrival, the midfield was in a poor state, especially from a creative standpoint.

If the Fire bring back Grazzini and Pardo for next season, the midfield needs some better contribution from the rest of the group. Even a budding young player like Marco Pappa took a step back this season. Sure, he had a career high with eight goals. But Pappa also took nearly twice as many shots as the year before, he only had two assists, and he was for the most part ineffective following the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The role of captain Logan Pause was an interesting one throughout the season. Holding midfield is Pause's comfort zone. His brief right back stint should be avoided in the future. He pushed up more when Pardo was brought into the fold, but you're ultimately not going to get much from Pause on the offensive end. Pause's defensive skill set clearly is his strong suit in the midfield.

Among some of the other midfielders, Daniel Paladini provided a tenacious style of play but his impact on the offensive end was minimal. Baggio Husidic saw his playing time cut in half from the previous season, which was an easy call to make from the coaching staff. GRADE: C-

Forward: As frustrating as some of Oduro's missed chances were, in the end he established one of the more productive Fire forward campaigns in quite some time with 12 goals. Nyarko split between forward and midfield during the season and once again led the team with nine assists. And if not for a multitude of frame-hitting strikes, Barouch showed that he could step immediately come off the bench and earn some scoring chances in his limited playing time.

The team's original plan was to have Diego Chaves and Gaston Puerari as the main offensive duo. Aside from Chaves' two game-winners at the end of the season and a decent start to his MLS career over the first six games, he took a back seat to the Nyarko-Oduro combo.

Overall, the Fire ranked sixth in the league with 46 goals (they benefited from two own goals). Chicago could certainly benefit from another striker to pair up with Oduro moving into next season, but in looking back on this past year, the Fire had to be pleased with their goal production. GRADE: B