Lam isn’t welcome back to train or play with FC Edmonton By Steven Sandor Posted on September 17, 2012 13 0 895 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Matt Lam in action against San Antonio. Matt Lam won’t be back with FC Edmonton this season — and likely won’t be back next year. The club confirmed that Lam, who was suspended by the club at the end of August, will not be back with the team in 2012. The club holds an option on the local midfielder’s contract for the 2013 season, but it would be hard to imagine that it would be exercised. At the end of August, the team confirmed that Lam would be suspended for the Labour Day weekend home match — which the Eddies lost 2-0 to Atlanta — for “disciplinary reasons.” But, after that one-game internal suspension was imposed, Lam hasn’t been back with the team at first- or reserve-team training, and he hasn’t been involved in any games. The club confirmed it is paying Lam’s salary to the end of the season, but he isn’t welcome to train or play with the team. While the club won’t confirm the nature of the incident, it is clear that the communication between Lam and the coaching staff is irreparably broken. That’s ironic, because Hans Schrijver, FCE’s assistant coach, had Lam under his wing in 2010 — when the midfielder was the Eddies’ top player in their season of friendlies — and in 2011, when he was assistant at Japanaese side JEF United. Lam spent the 2011 campaign on loan in Japan. When Lam returned to the Eddies in 2012, he was expected to be one of the team’s dominant players, but he saw his playing time and effectiveness wane as the season progressed. He wasn’t even named to the team’s roster for the road trip that came right before his suspension. When Lam came back to Canada, he was expected to get surgery on his shoulder, but decided instead to play with a brace rather than miss time. The coaching staff has been extended through the 2013 season, which may make it impossible for Lam to return.
