Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Watson joined the team just days before the start of the 2014 MLS campaign. Having not gone through preseason, the Englishman was forced into a quick study and made his club debut in the team’s harrowing 1-1 draw at Portland on March 16.
Having worked his way into a regular starting role of late, I caught up with Matthew to discuss his integration into the team, how he’s working with new signing Razvan Cocis and feelings for the team’s final stretch of the season.
Jeff Crandall:You go through all of preseason with one team and then get traded to another. Talk about how you had to adapt to a new club and a new position at right back straight away.
Matt Watson: I came in a little bit late, when I first got here I was trying to get in with the guys, get into the groove. I got into the team quickly in midfield and then playing at the back when Lovel [Palmer] got suspended. That was challenging at first. I was playing through adrenaline and found my rhythm after a while.
Still, there was a spot where I felt challenge tactically and I wasn’t as comfortable there as I was in other positions. I made my way through that but admittedly it was hard at the time because the team wasn’t firing on all cylinders. We were trying to find our identity as a team – it’s Frank’s first year as coach and he was trying to find the best pieces to put out there.
I think half way through the season I found my way back into the midfield and that helped me personally and the team as well. I’m more comfortable there, my performances are better in the middle of the field. As a team we were plodding along, recently we’ve done better, picking up more points and performances have been better.
JC:You’ve partnered with Jeff Larentowicz and Chris Ritter but seem to have found the most success with new signing Razvan Cocis in central midfield this season. What has made that successful for both of you?
MW: I’ve partnered with a few different guys. I think me and Razvan have a good partnership because we’re similar players and balanced going both ways – it makes it easier. It means I can get forward sometimes and stay back sometimes and get some rest and vice versa. That balance seems to work for us.
Jeff’s a little bit more defensive and same with Ritter. They kind of sit and it makes me more the attacking guy. I’m not an attacking midfielder -- I’m a box-to-box guy and I think Razvan would say the same about himself. It’s the most balanced partnership I think we’ve had. I think the team has mostly reaped the rewards of that, if not in all the results, certainly in the more recent performances. We’re starting to get into a rhythm and this is the time of the season for that.
JC: Home wins over New York as well as a gutsy draw over Toronto last month seem to have the team headed in a positive direction towards the end of the season. What do you think accounts for that?
It’s the most consistent we’ve kept the team this season. You kind of know what guys are doing and it makes things easier. Finally we get it. We get the roles we’re playing within the system.
We’ve changed it a bit with me and Razvan going both ways now and I think Jeff move to the back has been key because of his communication. He’s captain of the team, maybe the most vocal communicator we have on the field and having him at the back, he sees everything in front of him from the middle.
He’s more experienced than most of the guys and so it helps us all. It certainly helps me out, specifically with my positioning. Having Jeff tell me ‘go left, go right’ has made it easier. The guys in front of him and next to him will say the same.
JC:Who would you say has been the Fire’s most unsung player this season and why?
MW: Lovel Palmer. He doesn’t necessarily have all the bells and whistles but he’s a player that gets into tackles back there consistently. As a team, we haven’t been as physical as we could be this year and he’s certainly a very physical player. He puts in the tackles that just set the tone and show that we mean business. As a team we need that at times.
I’m not the biggest, Razvan’s not the biggest. Jeff and Baky [Soumare] are big at the back but Lovel, when he tackles he’s taking the ball and making a statement to the player. He’s taking everything. It sets the tone of aggression for the rest of us to say, “Okay, we’re in the game. Let’s get out there and fight like he is.
I hope people notice what he puts in. He’s been great for us this year.
JC:With nine games remaining the team is in the final stretch of the playoffs and despite a difficult start, you find yourselves just four points out of post-season berth. What is the mood heading into the last nine matches all against Eastern Conference teams?
MW: I think we’re playing some of our best soccer at this point in the season. It seems like we’ve gained a bit of ground and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel whereas at the beginning of the season, admittedly it was tough. We didn’t know how to get wins. We were dropping points in all ways imaginable and you had a thought about what it would take to get three points.
We’ve found ways to grind out results the past month in situations, had they happened earlier this season, where we would have dropped points. There is a mood now where we feel like we can do this. We’re not going to have to travel that much down the stretch and there’s a feeling of, “Let’s go for it.” There’s light at the end of the tunnel and at the same time there’s some frustration because you do look back at some of the games that we could have won that we didn’t win, didn’t finish out. We could be in a better position than we are right now.
You get on with it. We’re in the last push to get in the playoffs, there are basically six teams battling for the last three spots in the East and we all mostly play each other down the stretch. It’s all or nothing so in that sense, it’s a bit of relief because you leave it all out there. The way that MLS is, having the playoff system, there’s a string to carry you on and reach for. That’s good for us.
WATCH: Both Sides of the Badge with Matt Watson
