Home NASL & USL FC Edmonton Miller will give bad news to five FC Edmonton hopefuls on Saturday

Miller will give bad news to five FC Edmonton hopefuls on Saturday

7
0
678

On Friday night, FC Edmonton coach Colin Miller and his staff will undertake the most unpleasant of their tasks; they will identify the final five players who will be cut from the team.

On Saturday, they’ll inform those players of their decisions. In the end, the team expects to have 26 players on the roster. Sixteen already have been signed. But included on that list bubble players are FC Edmonton vets such as 2012 NASL Best XI defender Paul Hamilton, midfielders Chris Kooy and Kenny Caceros, plus strikers Elvir Gigolaj and Michael Cox. As well, NASL vets like Canadian fullback Edson Edward and former Minnesota Stars attacking midfielder Martin Nunez will find out their fates.

“It’s not a nice situation,” said Miller after the first of the team’s two training sessions Friday at the Commonwealth Fieldhouse. “We’ve worked with these players for two weeks; it’s a situation where some of them have really got to liking the city… And I understand that these can be life-changing decisions for some of these players, both positively and negatively.”

FCE’s Elvir Gigolaj, in white, in action against the U of A

Miller said the staff wanted to get the roster down to size well ahead of the NASL regular season (NASL doesn’t kick off till April) so the players who do get let go will have chances to find work elsewhere. Leaving them hanging until a few days before the season kicks off simply isn’t fair to players who aren’t earning massive paycheques to play soccer in North America.

“We have players who are very similar, in some instances,” said Miller. “And we also have the budget side of it. We have a budget to stick to. (Owner) Tom Fath has been very generous over the years, but we have to make sure we don’t go overboard.”

The players in camp have been in two-a-days over the last two weeks. And the unsigned players participated in a friendly against the University of Alberta earlier in the week; in that game, Massimo Mirabelli, who played in Finland last year, looked very strong, scoring goal and making a series of very good passes from the wing.

But, playing on the short indoor field at the Fieldhouse does make it difficult for coaches to assess players.

“It doesn’t make it easy,” admitted Miller. “There’s no space in behind the back four, any lack of pace from the defenders doesn’t get exposed here.” And, once these final cuts are made and the team moves from “try out” mode to the “preparation” phase, the staff will incorporate new drills that put more emphasis on the defenders being forced to cover the space behind them.

“We’ll be trying to expose the spaces behind, and it will also benefit the forwards with pace up front.”

Goalkeeper Lance Parker — who is one of the 16 players who are already signed — was also at training Friday; he came to camp late as he had to wrap up some modeling commitments.

Load More Related Articles
Load More By Steven Sandor
Load More In FC Edmonton

7 Comments

  1. Richie

    March 2, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    Any news on the cuts Steven?

    • Steven Sandor

      March 2, 2013 at 5:03 pm

      I expect the news will go out probably early- to mid-afternoon Saturday. The team will need to take the morning to inform the players.

  2. Tom Sathers

    March 2, 2013 at 4:07 am

    Steven, aside from Forydce what players will excite the fans with goals and attractive football to keep the attendance up?

    • Steven Sandor

      March 2, 2013 at 4:57 am

      Saiko is changing his number to 10, and I think it’s a sign of what the team sees his role as going forward. As well, Nunez isn’t signed as of yet, but I believe he could slot in as another attacking option, in terms of providing chances. What I think the team needs in the long run is a big forward to play with Fordyce… is that Cox — he looks bigger and stronger this season. But offence is definitely the sore spot right now; I think Colin and the brass have really gone out and addressed the defensive issues, especially on set pieces, but scoring could still be a sore point.

  3. Canadian

    March 2, 2013 at 2:12 am

    Hi Steve,
    In your opinion who are the key players to watch this upcoming season?

    • Steven Sandor

      March 2, 2013 at 3:38 am

      Hlavaty at holding midfield. If he can be a strong ball-winner, and give the Eddies a physical edge, it will be huge for the club. The two Northern Irish players — Watson to bring stability to the back, and Fordyce to score goals. Wes Knight will be key to eating some minutes.

  4. EddiesInside

    March 2, 2013 at 1:13 am

    5 of the following 6 players will likely be cut:
    Dillon Torindo
    Michael Nonni
    Michael Marousek
    Eddie Edward
    Kofi Gyawu
    Kenny Caceros

Check Also

Field of dreams? As CanPL owners meet in Edmonton, commissioner turns eyes towards baseball stadium

As the Canadian Premier League’s Board of Governors meeting in downtown Edmonton wrapped u…