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Mallan Roberts


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1 hour ago, shermanator said:

I was referring to the hamstring issue as opposed to the contract situation. I'm not arguing that Roberts should be playing, even the most adamant Voyageurs supporter should understand why Diakite is in the lineup. However, freezing Roberts out because of not being able to go during the first leg of the Voyageurs Cup is ridiculous.

It is detrimental to FC Edmonton in trying to recruit the next generation of academy players. Especially considering that they are already losing their best prospects to the Whitecaps every year, as well as Miller's past history of conflict with players on the roster. Any youth looking to be the next Mallan Roberts sees how the club have treated them this year and suddenly the option to join Whitecaps looks that much better, if it hasn't already.

Or maybe FC Edmonton are happy that players like Alphonso Davies don't want anything to do with them, who knows.

Take this quote from Jeff Paulus, their assistant coach and academy director from a few days ago. Doesn't seem like Miller is adhering to this philosophy, does it? 

Apples & oranges. Academy director vs professional head coach. 

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8 hours ago, shermanator said:

Or maybe FC Edmonton are happy that players like Alphonso Davies don't want anything to do with them, who knows.

That's a cheap shot. When playing for Milwall, every youth player would jump at the chance to play for Chelsea. That doesn't say anything about the club itself. 

However that doesn't say it's always better to jump ship. I don't think either Jalali nor Roberts would have been better off in Vancouver (now there's the USL-team, but that wasn't there before). 

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All very valid points. Diakite has come in and made sure that he is probably one of the first 3-4 names on the game sheet. As far as Mallan, or Jalali, even going back to previous players like Saiko and even Elvir Gigolaj (not sure if he rings a bell), but if you get on Millers bad side its tough to bounce back. Not to compare any of these guys to Laing, but he was on a contract year and if anything he stepped up his game.

As far as the Paulus quote, that is great if you are coaching at a youth level, possibly even college/university level, but once you are at the pro level like Miller, it is all about medals and wins, it is a job and if you don't get the W's and championships you lose your job. Out of all the academy products at FCE Mallan has been the most succesfull, you could argue Shome might surpass that, but it seems like a cycle of 3-4 years then out. Is that coincidental or are academy kids being signed for a few years, with very little time, just to promote the academy? thoughts?

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Could it also be that maybe these players don't have the level and / or stamina that it takes to be pro? Take Saiko, he quit after a few tries in NASL and I for one wouldn't blame him. But a guy like Ledgerwood took the shot and went abroad to make a living. He's still in the game.

There's always going to be drop-outs, and it's also hard when your prime youth-players get plucked by Van every season. 

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32 minutes ago, shamrock said:

Could it also be that maybe these players don't have the level and / or stamina that it takes to be pro? Take Saiko, he quit after a few tries in NASL and I for one wouldn't blame him. But a guy like Ledgerwood took the shot and went abroad to make a living. He's still in the game.

There's always going to be drop-outs, and it's also hard when your prime youth-players get plucked by Van every season. 

Your right. As far as the whitecaps thing goes they just have way more to offer. It would be a different story if the FCE Academy played in a US based high level league like the whitecaps do. For now they train 4-5 times a week with no meaningful games. Although they had a strong showing at the Umbro invitational in Toronto from what i've been told.

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I don't think it's a quality of play issue with Saiko, rather a "where can I play and make a living that's worth it while being away from my wife and daughter" issue. Regarding Saiko, remember that he was released after the Scorpions traded for an international player, putting them over the limit. Both he and Paul Hamilton had offers to play in NASL in 2014, but by all account the offers did not pay well, and it wasn't worth it for them to chase the dream anymore. This is as per Steven Sandor's article in Plastic Pitch from last year (can't remember what issue). 

We've seen this with other Canadian NASL players too, Philippe Davies and Terry Dunfield as specific examples. Both had offers to play, Davies had 2.5 years left on his; both had better offers financially to become a TD for a local club or a colour commentator.

This is why it concerns me that Miller would freeze out someone like Roberts, if he's released, his options for a pro career are very limited. It's basically USL or give it a go in a low league in Europe.

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I feel like Mallan Roberts is this year, John Smits. Why not move Roberts to CDM. He should still make 18. Miller does great job of alienating his player. Rago choose to retire instead of sign an extension with the club. Jalali and Aleskic haven't developed in the last 2 or 3 years. Kianz Frose has showed more promise with the whitecaps. At 16 Jalali n Froze were at the same level, training with fced until they could sign in germany. Miller apparently trashed Hanson Boakai to the mls clubs interested in signing him. He may be immature and do stupid things outside the pitch. The kid is only 19. Great job blocking his future. I think Hanson had a tweet like "I hope the fake get exposed".
 

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Roberts wouldn't be a natural CDM. He's not somebody you want dwelling on the ball. Maybe he could learn but with Ledgerwood around you wouldn't just toss Roberts in there.

And blaming Miller for Boakai not signing in MLS? Good God. He's in the Croatian second division, you think any coach would have wanted him but Miller poisoned the well? You think Miller is the only coach who had a problem with Boakai?

As to Jalali, he should play. But he was with the Whitecaps Residency for a spring before signing with the Eddies and here we are.

Edited by Lord Bob
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Steven Sandor article on the subject. Particularly interesting quote from the article saying "Miller said that academy product Marko Aleksic has blossomed, and has moved up the depth chart behind Albert Watson and Diakite." Lots of parallels between the Roberts situation and the Smits situation, although the loan to Ottawa at least gives Roberts the opportunity for some playing time.

http://the11.ca/2016/06/04/the-details-on-mallan-robertss-loan-move-to-ottawa/

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  • 4 months later...
9 hours ago, yothat said:

why did outimette get a call up over roberts?

Well, Karl is a fullback for us, not a CB, so the two really aren't competing for the same spot. Having said that, I am curious to read from Ottawa folks on how Robert's overall play was this season. He didn't get as many minutes as I would have expected. I figured he would have been an every day starter.

Mason Trafford (mentioned in another thread) and Gasparotto are two other CB's that deserve a look-see as well (maybe in January). Cheers!

[Edited reply, after seeing that this was a M. Roberts thread - not a K. Ouimette thread.]

Edited by David C.
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  • 2 months later...
14 minutes ago, yothat said:

http://www.fcedmonton.com/roster     

 

He isn't listed might be a better if team unattached

I'm not sure when his contract is supposed to expire, but it looks like they haven't touched their roster list yet (Shome and Fordyce are still there) and he was on loan with Ottawa last season, so it could just be that he hasn't been added back yet.

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They very cleverly changed that to the 2016 roster, so they wouldn't have to update until they release all the players info for 2017. And since Roberts was on loan to Ottawa at the time, they took him off that roster page.

Really hoping that Roberts lands somewhere, if he's not back in Edmonton this season. He has a lot of potential. 

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