BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Patrick Nyarko admits he has a chip on his shoulder after an injury-hit season saw him miss a large portion of the Chicago Fire’s ultimately disappointing 2014.
The Ghanaian winger has only started eight of the 15 games in which he has played this year, forced to watch from the sidelines for almost four months because of a knee sprain and the removal of bone spurs from his left ankle in May.
The 28-year-old’s current contract is up at the end of the season, but Nyarko is hoping to remain with the Fire because he believes he owes it to the club, and his teammates, to make up for what he deemed was an “unaccomplished year.”
“I have an option for next year, both parties – me and the team – have agreed to negotiate a new contract, and so we’re working on that,” Nyarko told MLSsoccer.com at open practice on Wednesday. “I’m looking forward to being here again. I have a chip on my shoulder. I feel like this year was an unaccomplished year, where I was hurt most of the year and couldn’t help the team the way I wanted to.
“I owe it to these guys to give them my best effort, my best form and what I can contribute the best,” the Fire’s 2008 SuperDraft first-round pick added. “So we’re working on it, and I’m looking forward to being here, especially since they want me here, and I want to be here for them. The faith that they have shown in me all these years, I want to repay them and reward them the best I can.”
Nyarko is one of several Fire players essentially out of contract at the end of the season, and after such a poor campaign in which Frank Yallop’s men (5-8-18, 33 points) are out of the playoff equation with three games to go, there could be significant personnel changes before the start of 2015.
Defender Lovel Palmer is another player whose future at Toyota Park is undecided, but after a season in which he impressed in 26 starts at right back, the Jamaican is hoping he too can return next year.
“I still have an option on my contract, which at the end of this season me and the coaching staff will talk about it,” said Palmer, who moved to Chicago from Real Salt Lake along with assistant coach CJ Brown ahead of this season. “I’ve told everyone I really enjoy the city, I enjoy the life, I enjoy the people on the streets. It’s a really nice community and a great city.
“… CJ being here also made it a lot easier for me, Frank is a great guy you get along with and the coaching staff is amazing,” Palmer added. “So hopefully, just finish out the year on a high. I think I’ve been having a pretty good year, so I just want to finish the season the way I started it and hopefully I’ll be here come next year.”
Palmer insisted self-improvement and leaving a lasting legacy should be the driving force behind every player’s performances.
“All in all, it shouldn’t be the end of the season where you’re three games to go and you decide, ‘I’m playing for a contract,’” Palmer said. “It should be all season, where you’re like, ‘I want to improve myself, I want to improve my team, I want to be a better player.’”
