Three more years: FCE hands Miller and his staff a mandate By Steven Sandor Posted on October 30, 2014 7 0 842 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Colin Miller Colin Miller believes that the length of his contract is a message to the naysayers who think that FC Edmonton won’t be around much longer. “The stability and the direction of the club, the fact that our owners, Tom and Dave Fath, have offered me a three-year contract is an incredible statement. It says to any of the doubting Thomases out there who have said that we may not exist in x amount of years, it’s a statement that we’re here and we are going to be in the community, to thrive in the community and to grow as a club and as a football culture.” On Thursday, the club announced that Miller, assistant Jeff Paulus and keepers coach Darren Woloshen were all signed to three-year extensions. Miller said that, when he took over as coach ahead of the 2013 season, he told the owners that it would be a five-year project to turn the team around. He said that the first year was almost a total wash, as so many changes had to made to both the roster and the culture of the team. But, in the fall season, the Eddies surged, and went from a club near the bottom of the NASL table to a club that pushed for a post-season spot till the penultimate week of the regular season. But, Miller has been given the chance to complete the five-year project. And that work begins in the team’s final game of the season, when it hosts the Atlanta Silverbacks on Sunday. The Silverbacks’ future is murky; the team;s brass has admitted that the future of the club is uncertain. Does a white knight save the team and keep it in Atlanta, is the franchise sold and moved to a new city, or does the team self-relegate to third-division USL-PRO? Miller said that he expects that the Silverbacks players will come and give very good account of themselves. He said they know there’s a history of FCE signing former Atlanta players — or, in the case of defender Beto Navarro, buying a Silverback. So he believes that players who know they might all become free agents will show their best. “They know they are in the shop window,” said Miller. “The Atlanta side that will come here, I watched their game twice so far, the game against Carolina from last week. They’ve got good players, there’s no question about it. Sure, the club may be in disarray at the moment, but we have to treat them with respect because they do have those good players, key players who are match-winners for them. And we haven’t beat them yet this season.” After the Atlanta game, the business of planning for next season goes into full swing. Miller expects to bring in four or five new players, but said that he wants to keep the core of the team intact. It’s now about adding a few pieces.
