Fire create goalie battle

One of the reasons the Fire never had consistent success under team president Nelson Rodriguez and former coach Veljko Paunovic was their handling of goalkeepers. After dumping Sean Johnson following the 2016 season, the Fire started seven goalies in the next three years but couldn’t find a steady solution.

If Rodriguez and Paunovic had remained in their 2019 roles, it’s likely Kenneth Kronholm (No. 7 on that list) would’ve entered 2020 as the presumed starter. But Rodriguez is focusing on the business side of the franchise and Paunovic was fired in November, leaving questions about which way the Fire will go.

On Thursday, the Fire’s new management found at least a challenger to Kronholm, announcing the signing of veteran Bobby Shuttleworth. He’s under contract through the 2021 season.

“Bobby is a true professional and a very experienced goalkeeper,” Fire coach Raphael Wicky said in a news release. “His experience and knowledge of MLS will be very valuable for our team.”

Shuttleworth, 32, has made 185 league appearances for the New England Revolution and Minnesota United. He finished the 2019 season with the USL’s Sacramento Republic after Minnesota loaned him in August.

Kronholm, meanwhile, joined the Fire in May 2019 and quickly supplanted David Ousted as the starter. Kronholm began slowly but finished the season relatively well, ending up with five shutouts.

In October, Rodriguez said the Fire saw Kronholm as their top goalie entering 2020.

Said Rodriguez: “From Aug. 1 to the end of the year, by the metrics that we use and then through an outside group that we hired to analyze the performance of all of our players on our team, Kronholm was a top-five goalkeeper.

“He’s clearly much more comfortable. He, I think, understands the league, understands the team. He’s a great guy, super positive energy at all times. We see him remaining as the No. 1 goalkeeper.”

Of course, little about the 2019 Fire will remain the same when the 2020 season begins.