It took him just two seasons to transform the Ottawa Fury from expansion side to Soccer Bowl finalist. He’s also an unabashed supporter of Canadian talent. Even though he currently works in the United States — with the USL affiliate of Sporting Kansas City — he has four Canadians on his roster.

The news coming out of the Ottawa Fury camp isn't pretty; midfielder Julian de Guzman is expected to be out four to six weeks with a knee tendon issue. He was hurt in training last week.

This may be the week where the NASL narrative changes. We’re edging towards the halfway point of the fall season, and we might now be talking about FCE, Indy and the Cosmos all being playoff teams, and everyone else fighting for that fourth and final spot — unless one of those other clubs can make a mark on the fall-season race.

“I’ve been here four seasons, and I think the league has always underestimated our players,” said Watson. “We’re surprised about it this year, because we have better calibre of players. But, we’ve always been underestimated, even in stupid things like player of the week, and team of the week, which we really don’t really take into account. Because some of the selections, you put your head in your hands and go ‘where did that come from?’

On Tuesday, the Whitecaps announced a new partnership with the Alberta Soccer Association that will include an academy located in Calgary. But it needs to be stated that, before this deal was stamped, both the ASA and the Whitecaps informed FC Edmonton of their intentions — and FCE gave the plan its support.

No, the final was decided in the worst way a game of such magnitude can be decided; with a controversial penalty. Trust me, if you lose, you’d rather lose because the opponents beat you with a wonderful goal — or, if it has to be on a penalty decision, that it’s stone-cold clear.

Once again, Matt VanOekel will be an NASL play-of-the-week candidate. He could be the league’s player of the week, week after week after week. You get the feeling that the brass at NASL is just being nice, letting other players have the awards.

There were some hints dropped Friday that suggest that the loan of Canadian keeper Nathan Ingham from FC Edmonton to TFCII could be the beginning of something greater.

In a release issued Thursday, ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams) states that the Jalali brothers were arrested in south Edmonton Wednesday. ALERT states that Sadi’s Infiniti was pulled over, and that police found 16 bags of cocaine and $5,285 in what it calls "proceeds of crime."

This is a group of players who are used to being underestimated by their opposition. And forward Dominic Russo, who was named as one of the three finalists for the PDL’s most valuable player award, is a prime example of the team’s devil-may-care attitude.