Paul Hamilton officially a Railhawk

[nolando]

Despite having longer odds given every team in North America had already all but finalized their opening day rosters, he signs with what has been one of the league's better clubs. Well done!

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4569585

[Grizzly]

Maybe it will work out for the best in the end especially if Hamilton can get a green card and be eligible for all US teams without requiring an international spot. Plus the injury to Miller's foreign replacement forced FCE to bring in another Canadian as backup who might have otherwise been out of contract.

Still while you bring in a coach to make the hard decisions and form the team that he likes, Miller has really put himself behind the 8 ball with fans and the ownership by cutting a fan favourite who is not only Canadian but from Alberta and who was a league All-Star the previous year. In watching FCE since it has been founded there have only been 4 or 5 players who impressed me and who I thought had MLS potential and Hamilton was near the top of the list. At the very least he is a very good NASL starter. If Miller's replacements at CB do not do well and the team flounders he is going to be under a lot of heat for this decision very quickly. Also while Hamilton may not be the style of defender Miller likes, I am not really a fan of a coach that can not be flexible and work with good players of various styles instead of cutting everyone who does not fit in to his ideal ala Preki. Obviously every coach needs to be given a chance but we will really find out with this appointment whether Miller has any coaching pedigree or not. One thing that does give me a bit of a negative opinion on him right off the bat is that he made a lot of critical statements about Hamilton that were very similar to criticisms he leveled publicly about Porter who was also in an uncertain situation regarding his contract with FCE. Given that Porter subsequently signed with DCU and looks to be a bonafide MLS player so far that suggests that Miller is either a poor judge of talent or willing to spew a bunch of BS about any player not doing what pleases him in regards to his club. If Miller wants to be honest and shoot from the hip then fine but then don't talk a lot of BS at the same time.

Anyway both are Canadian and I hope the best for both of them. However, part of us developing our players and coaches is weeding out those who do not have the ability to be real professionals from those that do. Hopefully we will find out in a reasonable time what Millers abilities are and hopefully Hamilton will do well in Carolina and show Miller/FCE that they made a mistake in cutting him. If he does well with a new team and different players it will enhance his reputation more than if he stayed with the same team and maybe could lead to some MLS interest.

[Keegan]

Hamilton was sent off in his debut tonight for Carolina with a second yellow in the 90th but his team got the clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with defending champion Tampa Bay away.

[madmonte]

Hamilton was sent off in his debut tonight for Carolina with a second yellow in the 90th but his team got the clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with defending champion Tampa Bay away.

Important to note that, only training with the club a short time, that Hamilton still got the start. If looking for him next week, though, don't bother! (obviously)

[nolando]

"Along with Fitzgerald, the most impressive RailHawks performance was defender Paul Hamilton in his club debut. Hamilton made a terrific slide tackle from behind to save of a goal-scoring opportunity in the 26th minute and was a force in the air throughout."

http://www.indyweek.com/triangleoffense/archives/2013/04/06/carolina-railhawks-open-2013-season-with-0-0-draw-at-tampa-bay-rowdies

[Grizzly]

Important to note that, only training with the club a short time, that Hamilton still got the start. If looking for him next week, though, don't bother! (obviously)

Yes and unfortunately for him his suspension is against FCE.

[madmonte]

Yes and unfortunately for him his suspension is against FCE.

But probably fortunate for FCE.

[jedinathan]

Maybe it will work out for the best in the end especially if Hamilton can get a green card and be eligible for all US teams without requiring an international spot. Plus the injury to Miller's foreign replacement forced FCE to bring in another Canadian as backup who might have otherwise been out of contract.

Still while you bring in a coach to make the hard decisions and form the team that he likes, Miller has really put himself behind the 8 ball with fans and the ownership by cutting a fan favourite who is not only Canadian but from Alberta and who was a league All-Star the previous year. In watching FCE since it has been founded there have only been 4 or 5 players who impressed me and who I thought had MLS potential and Hamilton was near the top of the list. At the very least he is a very good NASL starter. If Miller's replacements at CB do not do well and the team flounders he is going to be under a lot of heat for this decision very quickly. Also while Hamilton may not be the style of defender Miller likes, I am not really a fan of a coach that can not be flexible and work with good players of various styles instead of cutting everyone who does not fit in to his ideal ala Preki. Obviously every coach needs to be given a chance but we will really find out with this appointment whether Miller has any coaching pedigree or not. One thing that does give me a bit of a negative opinion on him right off the bat is that he made a lot of critical statements about Hamilton that were very similar to criticisms he leveled publicly about Porter who was also in an uncertain situation regarding his contract with FCE. Given that Porter subsequently signed with DCU and looks to be a bonafide MLS player so far that suggests that Miller is either a poor judge of talent or willing to spew a bunch of BS about any player not doing what pleases him in regards to his club. If Miller wants to be honest and shoot from the hip then fine but then don't talk a lot of BS at the same time.

Anyway both are Canadian and I hope the best for both of them. However, part of us developing our players and coaches is weeding out those who do not have the ability to be real professionals from those that do. Hopefully we will find out in a reasonable time what Millers abilities are and hopefully Hamilton will do well in Carolina and show Miller/FCE that they made a mistake in cutting him. If he does well with a new team and different players it will enhance his reputation more than if he stayed with the same team and maybe could lead to some MLS interest.

Just wondering what comments you would be refering to for Porter? From all accounts I had heard that Miller attempted to try and get Porter to sign with the club. the11.ca reported a few times that there was an offer on the table, but it was Porter's camp that stalled and eventually caused the offer to be withdrawn (still glad to hear that he's doing well in DC).

As for Hamilton, I haven't watched much more than the last 15 min of the game, so I can't speak to the entirety of his play, but I thought both Hamilton's yellows were avoidable. Temper got the best of him in the first (went toe-to-toe with a player after a tackle), and the second was a rather reckless header. Came through the back of a player from way out of position and just drove right through him. Could have been a straight red, but the yellow was deserved IMO.

Too bad that he won't be avalible next week against FCE though. Would have been interesting to see how Carolina would fare against FCE.

[foreverthursday]

The second one I didn't have a problem with. A foul or a yellow, but the first one was a feisty one. Then again, it was that same fire that made him our best player (he was more consistent then Saiko) for the last three years. Good to see you taking a nice steaming dump on him though.

[alberta white]

Hammy will be back in the Hawks starting line up for the Return at Clarke.

I imagine he'll get a warm welcome.

The last ditch sliding tackle has always been Hammy's stock in trade. I did venture earlier that it might have been this which Miller saw as the flaw in his game. This been too square to the play leaving him scrambling to recover. A potentially quick player been made to look vunerable in the eyes of some.

I imagine he'll become a fan fave in NC, regardless, as he's got a good attitude towards the game and the supporters in general.

[Grizzly]

Just wondering what comments you would be refering to for Porter? From all accounts I had heard that Miller attempted to try and get Porter to sign with the club. the11.ca reported a few times that there was an offer on the table, but it was Porter's camp that stalled and eventually caused the offer to be withdrawn (still glad to hear that he's doing well in DC).

He made some comments about Porter when both were involved in the friendlies Canada was playing:

http://the11.ca/2013/01/28/hirschfeld-out-for-canada-u-s-match-miller-asks-porter-to-show-more-passion/

Thomas obviously did more to impress Miller than forward Kyle Porter, who came in during the second half of the Denmark match. Porter spent the last two seasons at FC Edmonton, and has yet to respond to the club’s contract offer for 2013. Miller is FC Edmonton’s new coach. Despite the delicate nature of their club relationship, Miller was blunt in his assessment of Porter’s work.

“With Kyle, I think he has a ways to go, to be honest. He did some OK things, but he has some ways to go at this level of football.”

Miller said Porter has the ability to be a better player, but needs to show the will to become a better player.

“That level of desire and passion, I need to see more of it,” said Miller. “He’s got to show real passion for this game.”

What bothers me about these comments is that he has been pretty positive about almost every player since taking over FCE except the two guys who did not just accept the offered contract from FCE. Really makes me wonder how credible these comments are. Additionally he should be making comments like this in private with the players not publicly and certainly not while wearing the hat of interim Canada coach. Does not seem very professional or fair to me to either the players or even us as MNT fans.

And Porter's camp did not stall and cause the offer to be withdrawn, they were waiting to see the outcome of his trial with DCU. Any smart player or agent would do the same if it looked like the player had good chances to sign a league higher and to probably at least a bit better salary with a lot of potential for a much higher salary in the future. FCE withdrew the offer before his trial was over. They certainly have a right to do so and they can not wait forever for a player to make a decision. However, at the D2 level you need to have some flexibility with allowing your better players to fully explore higher division opportunities if you want to retain such players if their trials do not work out. And if you do not support your players when they have opportunities like this and try to pressure them to cut short trials because you are going to withdraw your contract, you might find less young talented players willing to sign with your club. As a team that has made a lot of claims about how much they are doing to develop Canadian soccer players (and have been a very good example to the other Canadian clubs in this regards so far) I think they need to support their Canadian players better than they did Porter when they have opportunities to move up in the soccer world if they want to maintain this reputation.

I have nothing personal against Miller and he has pretty much started with a blank slate with me. As the only Canadian team in NASL this year I hope FCE wins the league and as a Canadian coach I hope Miller does well just like I hope all the Canadian players do well. We will certainly find out soon whether Miller is indeed a good coach which is the type of opportunity we need for all of our Canadian coaches. However, some of the stuff he did with Porter and Hamilton does start him off on a negative foot with me and gives me a poor impression right off the bat.

And I would like to say to Miller, one of the ways a player can show he has passion and the will to become a better player is to trial and sign with a club playing at a higher level rather than staying comfortable at the lower level club he has been with for years and at a level that he knows he has the ability for.

[Mr.Impact]

FCE has indeed done well bringing in young Canadian talent. However, they should be mindful of how they treat their current Canadian stars. If you're a young Canadian player on the squad, and your looking at how both Hamilton and Porter have been treated, they have to be thinking will they receive the same type of treatment, as soon as they start making a name for themselves?

“With Kyle, I think he has a ways to go, to be honest. He did some OK things, but he has some ways to go at this level of football.”

From a man that's still involved in evaluating players for the CMNT. And we wonder why we are where we are today.

[jedinathan]

Porter's trail didn't start until after the offer expired though. At the time, all of the people in the ESG circle I was talking too hoped that he wasn't sacrificing a sure contract with FCE for an unknown trial/contract with an MLS club.

I don't have any excuses, but I do like the start from scratch mentality that came to the club. I think that its unfortunate that such a fan fav got cut, and that it happened in the way it did. One week in is a little early to tell if it was the right choice too.

[jedinathan]

FCE has indeed done well bringing in young Canadian talent. However, they should be mindful of how they treat their current Canadian stars. If you're a young Canadian player on the squad, and your looking at how both Hamilton and Porter have been treated, they have to be thinking will they receive the same type of treatment, as soon as they start making a name for themselves?

From a man that's still involved in evaluating players for the CMNT. And we wonder why we are where we are today.

Don't quite understand that one... He's the only national coach to give Porter a chance with the team so far. I'm quite excited to see him capped, and think he'll do good things for Canada.

[Mr.Impact]

Don't quite understand that one... He's the only national coach to give Porter a chance with the team so far. I'm quite excited to see him capped, and think he'll do good things for Canada.

Of course he's good enough to earn a cap for Canada, but he still had ways to go if he wanted to play with FCE.

“With Kyle, I think he has a ways to go, to be honest. He did some OK things, but he has some ways to go at this level of football.”

[Keegan]

Of course he's good enough to earn a cap for Canada, but he still had ways to go if he wanted to play with FCE.

I don't think so, Miller wanted Porter back and so did FCE plain and simple... he had an offer.

I also think Miller's comment is more of a motivator to light a fire under Kyle's ass. Nothing at all wrong with that and if more coaches did that I bet we'd see a lot less flops in Canadian footy. Think of how many players have been talented but haven't had the drive/attitude. If Miller really thought Kyle was a poor player he wouldn't have used him in both friendlies.

[alberta white]

I don't think so, Miller wanted Porter back and so did FCE plain and simple... he had an offer.

I also think Miller's comment is more of a motivator to light a fire under Kyle's ass. Nothing at all wrong with that and if more coaches did that I bet we'd see a lot less flops in Canadian footy. Think of how many players have been talented but haven't had the drive/attitude. If Miller really thought Kyle was a poor player he wouldn't have used him in both friendlies.

I think Millar pulled the contract to see if Kyle could cut it at the DCU camp with no saftey net beneath him.

If he had been cut I would not have been suprised to see paperwork with FCE letterheads waft across KP's blackberry.

As the saying goes "if you love someone, set them free"

[Mr.Impact]

I don't think so, Miller wanted Porter back and so did FCE plain and simple... he had an offer.

I also think Miller's comment is more of a motivator to light a fire under Kyle's ass. Nothing at all wrong with that and if more coaches did that I bet we'd see a lot less flops in Canadian footy. Think of how many players have been talented but haven't had the drive/attitude. If Miller really thought Kyle was a poor player he wouldn't have used him in both friendlies.

Miller is quite the motivator. He's also quite the bull****ter too.

[Lord Bob]

Miller is quite the motivator. He's also quite the bull****ter too.

Why are you so obsessed with these vague theories about how a non-first-class NASL striker wanted to sign with an MLS team and that's Colin Miller's fault? Porter had work to do to improve as a player and meet his potential at the NASL level? No kidding. What's the controversy there?

[Mr.Impact]

Why are you so obsessed with these vague theories about how a non-first-class NASL striker wanted to sign with an MLS team and that's Colin Miller's fault? Porter had work to do to improve as a player and meet his potential at the NASL level? No kidding. What's the controversy there?

Vague Theories ??? You find it perfectly normal, that he has work to do at the NASL level according to Miller, but yet he's managed to earn a spot on a MLS squad. What about talking about the player's potential, the same potential that earned him a call up for the national team. Instead we get BS, about how he's got work to do at the NASL level. What about encouraging talented young players to move on to better leagues, instead of talking about their perceived short comings.

[Keegan]

Vague Theories ??? You find it perfectly normal, that he has work to do at the NASL level according to Miller, but yet he's managed to earn a spot on a MLS squad. What about talking about the player's potential, the same potential that earned him a call up for the national team. Instead we get BS, about how he's got work to do at the NASL level. What about encouraging talented young players to move on to better leagues, instead of talking about their perceived short comings.

Miller didn't say he had work to do at the NASL level, he was talking about the international level... that quote is from the Canada camp.

[maccaliam]

One of the more amusing things I've taken from Miller's appointment is the realization that every manager who comes in to take over a new team complains about the team's fitness, and how under them that won't be an issue any more.

I swear I remember Redknapp saying it when he took over at Spurs, Hughes saying it at QPR, Bruce saying it when he took over Hull, Marriner saying it about TFC when he took over last year, Di Canio saying it last week when he took over Sunderland, and Miller saying it about FCE. I am sure there are loads more too as those are just off the top of my head.

How little training do professionals do once a manager has been in a post for more than a few weeks?

[foreverthursday]

Vague Theories ??? You find it perfectly normal, that he has work to do at the NASL level according to Miller, but yet he's managed to earn a spot on a MLS squad. What about talking about the player's potential, the same potential that earned him a call up for the national team. Instead we get BS, about how he's got work to do at the NASL level. What about encouraging talented young players to move on to better leagues, instead of talking about their perceived short comings.

This.

Exactly this.

[Grizzly]

Miller just can't seem to shut his mouth and keep anything private. Hamilton shows some class in the quotes from the following article but Miller is once again an unprofessional ass who can't keep opinions private that should remain private. Here are the Miller quotes:

“Surprising for you, not surprising for me,” Miller said of Hamilton’s release prior to the team’s opener. “Paul was a terrific player for the club from what I’ve heard, but I saw weaknesses in his game. We now have players at a different standard.

“For me — and I spoke to him face-to-face, so it’s not anything that I’m saying behind his back — he wasn’t at the level I want the team to be at. We’ve now got players in that will add more to the team than what Paul did last season.”

The rest of the article is here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Former+Edmonton+defender+Paul+Hamilton+disappointed+head+coach+sent+packing/8236746/story.html

I never had much of an opinion either way about Miller before but he is making an extremely negative impression on me. First he was interim national team coach and made negative statements about players to the media. And with a team of very variable quality he just coincidentally only made comments on the players that were in contract negotiations/disputes with FCE. And I am sure it did not exactly help Porter's chances with DCU to have his national and club team coach dissing him publicly. That is almost a kind of sabotage attempt on Miller's part which is reprehensible in his role as national team coach even if it suits his club interests. Indeed I think that is all an abuse of power as national team coach. And he is getting a mild amount of heat about his decision to cut Hamilton and his reaction is to diss him publicly as means of justifying his decision. That tells me that Miller is not only a prick but also has very little confidence in his ability and decision as a manager. Since FCE is a Canadian team with a lot of Canadian players on them I can not hope against them. However, I hope Miller's last interim stint is the last time he has anything to do with the Canadian national team at any age or level. And Mr. Miller should learn that just because you run down a person's abilities to his face whether accurately or inaccurately that does not give you the right to then run him down in the media. What an *******!

[maccaliam]

It is unprofessional, I agree. I am not impressed with how Miller has behaved since being hired by FCE.