CDNFootballer Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 FC Edmonton will participate in four exhibition matches while in Manchester, facing English Championship sides Newcastle United U-23 and Wigan Reserves, as well as English Premiership sides Burnley U-23 and Stoke U-23. “FC Edmonton is coming off its best season in club history, and last year's successful run started with games against top competition during a preseason trip to Scotland," NASL Interim Commissioner Rishi Sehgal said. "With this year's trip to England, the club will have a tremendous opportunity to come together as a group and train at a high level going into the season. I think the trip as a whole demonstrates, once again, the strong commitment and passion of owners Tom and Dave Fath." FC Edmonton will train at The Armitage Sports Centre, the main athletic facility for the University of Manchester. The Armitage Sports Centre features two full-sized outdoor 3-G turf fields and access to weight training and cardio machines. “We are looking for exactly the same principles as we did in Scotland and have four very difficult games,” Miller said. “We’re based in Manchester, playing against four very high-profile clubs and I think it speaks volumes about our club that they want to play FC Edmonton.” http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/2017/02/14/fc-edmonton-announces-four-match-manchester-preseason-trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 Please be Smits, please be Smits, please be Smits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 It's not Smits, it's Chris Konopka. Pretty uninspiring signing IMO. Would have rather see Edmonton sign a local product if they were going to get a keeper who's never been more than a backup / emergency keeper at any level he's played at (outside of one year with TFC). Hope Farago takes the #1 spot and runs with it. http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/2017/02/15/veteran-mls-goalkeeper-konopka-joins-fc-edmonton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yothat Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 he sucks, ..better for Ingham n Farago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Don't mind this move. They needed a #1 keeper, he's an experienced keeper who coming into camp as the uncertain #1 not unlike the MVO a couple years ago. It'd be very ideal for Konopka to start 60-75% of games while the two Canadian kids battle it out for the scraps. Healthy competition builds character, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Talked with Chris today at training. He's well spoken that's for sure. Looked like a solid shot stopper, but that's only practice. I think it'll be an interesting development to see the battle between Chris and Tyson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yothat Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 MVO was a starter for Minnsota. Konopka has run of games once his career where he's the #1. Never been the #1 once. Looking at the bio thought playing in ross county was good only got 1 appearance. Smits has shoter careers by 6-7 years and has started more games. They say a keeper is a professional at 100 games. Keepers do get better as they get older. This bolds well for ingham or Farango. They have decent shot at being a starter at some point in the season. Was David Monsalves available? or any other canadian keepers with experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 17 hours ago, yothat said: MVO was a starter for Minnsota. Konopka has run of games once his career where he's the #1. Never been the #1 once. Looking at the bio thought playing in ross county was good only got 1 appearance. Smits has shoter careers by 6-7 years and has started more games. They say a keeper is a professional at 100 games. Keepers do get better as they get older. This bolds well for ingham or Farango. They have decent shot at being a starter at some point in the season. Was David Monsalves available? or any other canadian keepers with experience? Saying that MVO was a starter for Minnesota isn't 100% accurate... He played 70 games between 2010 and 2014... He often was replaced with another keeper. Regardless, the point about experience is taken. On the other hand, Chris has a lot of experience playing with "bigger" clubs than FCEd, which would afford him a higher level of training than he would have gotten at a NASL club. For my money, I see Chris coming in as the strong starting candidate, but I don't think that Tyson Farago is that far behind (just based on what has been said about him in 2016). The other half of that is that Farago only has 20 games total played... and 14 of those are with WSA Winnipeg. I don't really see that as any better or worse than Chris. My hope is that duties can be split a bit more than they have been previously with FCEd and Tyson gets more time. Heck, even Nathan could see some time if FCEd can wrap up a playoff spot early. For what its worth, Tyson also seemed in a pretty good space at training yesterday too. Monsalve looks like he's playing in Finland currently. To my (not very good) knowledge, there aren't any really solid Canadian keepers that could have stepped in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNFootballer Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Ameobi comes into 2017 FCE season looking to recapture his 2015 form “I see a different Tomi Ameobi, I’m saying that quite honestly,” said coach Colin Miller after Friday’s preseason training session at the Commonwealth Fieldhouse. “I had a long, heart-to-heart with Tomi at the end of last season and I told him that, by his standards, he underachieved.” In 2015, before injury slowed him down, Ameobi was on a torrid pace. He outleapt defenders for balls in the air. He could hold up the ball. And his pace surprised defenders. He finished the season with seven goals and two assists in just 18 games. He figured in on a goal once every other game, a healthy return. https://the11.ca/ameobi-comes-into-2017-fce-season-looking-to-recapture-his-2015-form/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shermanator Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Nik Ledgerwood has been named captain of FC Edmonton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 Bit of a strange move, is it not? You don't often see a captaincy change like this when the former captain is still on the team. Really have to wonder how Watson feels about this. Hopefully it isn't a sign of discord in the locker room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yothat Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 well i would assume there some issues. U had hanson boakai need a babysitter. Sadi getting in trouble with the law while being a professional or watson wants to came to miller asking for less responsibility to focus on other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted February 22, 2017 Share Posted February 22, 2017 I do wonder about the timing of things. We've seen the club space out signings and try to keep the conversation going for FCEd in the off season. I have a few thoughts on this, and I'm sure we'll get into it on the next episode of the Loyal Co Podcast. For myself, I can see Albert stepping back, and I do think that he's closer to retirement than Nik is. I feel like most people on here would be hard pressed to argue how much Nik deserves the armband. Hanson and Sadi are players that went from being a big fish to a little fish in a big pond. I know from talking with a few people that the club continued to be supportive of Hanson, and wanted to sign him again. Of course there are always issues within work place environments. Think that the club has handled them quite well to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNFootballer Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Straith signs with FC Edmonton for the NASL spring season Straith has signed with the Eddies for the spring NASL season. The defender/midfielder can play a variety of roles for the Eddies. He’s made 41 appearances for Canada; in the team’s most recent friendly, a 4-2 win over Bermuda, Straith had to go in goal when cards and injuries claimed all of the team’s regular keepers. He ended up getting credit for the win in that game. “I know a number of the guys, I know a number of the staff, I’ve worked with Colin (FCE coach Colin Miller) in the past… I’m looking forward to it,” said Straith. With Canadians Nik Ledgerwood, Ben Fisk, Tyson Farago and Straith having senior men’s team experience, and Mauro Eustaquio in the mix for the national team, the Eddies could have headaches when Canada plays Scotland on March 22, and later this summer during the Gold Cup. With the NASL not breaking for international windows, having a lot of national-team-level players at one club can be both a blessing and a curse. “We may lose them for the Gold Cup, we may lose them for Scotland, we don’t know yet,” said Miller. “That’s one of the down-sides of having national-team players. We have a team full of them at the moment.” https://the11.ca/straith-signs-with-fc-edmonton-for-the-nasl-spring-season/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Comparing league rosters and FC Edmonton are looking like very strong title contenders. Strong defense, a good core of leaders, a little bit of creativity in the midfield and hopefully the guys up front can tuck away the ball. I'd probably like a stronger further run into the Voyaguer leading into CONCACAF better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toje Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 " Northern Ireland strike Dean Shiels has signed for Canadian North American Soccer League club FC Edmonton. Shiels, whose played for League of Ireland champions Dundalk last year, joins a club that plays in the tier below the MLS in North America." http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39114268?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_sport_ni&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=northern_ireland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Has done well to have a pro level career because he only has one eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 Edmonton Sun article on the Eddies' trip to England:http://www.edmontonsun.com/2017/03/07/fc-edmonton-heading-to-england-for-preseason-tour On a personal level, it sucks that FC Edmonton don't come to the Greater Vancouver area for training camp anymore. It was interesting to watch them play against some local university sides. But they are obviously getting higher level competition and I'm glad that the team is making the investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 1 hour ago, masster said: Edmonton Sun article on the Eddies' trip to England:http://www.edmontonsun.com/2017/03/07/fc-edmonton-heading-to-england-for-preseason-tour On a personal level, it sucks that FC Edmonton don't come to the Greater Vancouver area for training camp anymore. It was interesting to watch them play against some local university sides. But they are obviously getting higher level competition and I'm glad that the team is making the investment. The investment is an interesting part of this. I've heard that the budget is very tight for this trip. Almost entirely made up of players and coaching staff, I'm guessing there will be VERY little in the way of lineups and highlights that will posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Bags are packed, and the boys are off to England. Safe travels, gel as a team and have a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yothat Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 couldnt they show the games on fb live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 As per label, Highlights from game vs Wigan Athletics resevres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 2-1 loss to Burnley U-23. Goal by Correa http://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/news/article/2016-17/burnley-xi-2-fc-edmonton-1-3625221.aspx Burnley's write up on the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 More good news for the club " Academy striker Mahdi Hammoud is making an impression overseas after completing a trial with English Premier League-side Watford F.C. " http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/2017/03/14/fc-edmonton-academy-product-hammoud-earning-looks-overseas-after-trial-in-england Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 High lites of FC Edmontons 2-1 loss against Burnley U-23. Lone goal by Correa. Not a straight up youth side, as Belgian international Steven Defour played 70 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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