At the risk of sounding overly harsh, perhaps there is no better description of FC Edmonton's 2013 season than mid-table anonymity. As the draw specialists of the league, Edmonton fans and opponents alike knew what the club's recipe was: be hard to break down, depend on long balls and set pieces and hope to win games 1-0. Accordingly Edmonton was a side that nobody really looked forward to playing against, yet the fear of Edmonton picking up three points was never all too prevalent either.
With last year's scoring struggles in mind, Colin Miller has looked to revamp his midfield and striking options, but will the changes be enough for Edmonton to keep up with some of the bigger spenders in the league?
Goalkeepers
No problems here at all for Edmonton. Lance Parker returns for another season, and there can be little doubt that he is one of the better keepers in the league. Jon Smits, who did see action in a few games last spring, showed himself to be quite the capable shot-stopper as well, so Edmonton fans will have little to worry about should Parker miss any time.
Defenders
One needs to only take a cursory look at last year's table to see that goals allowed were hardly the downfall of FC Edmonton, and with everybody sans David Proctor returning, expect more of the same defensive performances from this group.
Albert Watson may indeed be the best center back in the league, and he should have no problems at all in establish a good playing relationship with either returnee Mallan Roberts or new signing Kareem Moses, who has been a Trinidad and Tobago youth international. Eddie Edwards is really a center back playing on the right, but his play there makes him hard to keep out of the side. Lance Laing also returns, and as a long-standing NASL veteran, we know well enough that he's a solid left back in this league.
What makes this back line such the immovable object is their sheer size and strength across the back four. Defeating them in the air is no easy task, and their willingness to get stuck in on tackles means that opponents will only get a couple of sincere looks at goal a game.
Midfielders
With the crafty Shaun Saiko falling out with Colin Miller at the end of last season and then moving on to the now big-spending San Antonio Scorpions, FC Edmonton will forge on in 2014 without their most dangerous playmaker.
Mike Banner, who split time at left back and on the left wing with Chicago in his MLS days, will offer some pace down that side in his first NASL season. Neil Hlavaty returns, which is highly important when we consider his ability to whip in a good cross and deliver from set pieces. As seen last season away to Atlanta, he is a threat to score from long range on free kicks.
With Robert Garrett returning to Linfield and Chris Nurse now serving as a key addition for Ft. Lauderdale, the heart of the midfield has been revamped in the hopes of adding some more creativity. Milton Blanco, who formed a solid partnership with Richard Menjivar last season in Atlanta, will likely be given more free reign to get forward than he did with Atlanta and will thus be expected to facilitate a bit more than we have seen from him in the past. Former Manchester United trainee Ritchie Jones has also joined, and his experience cultivated from playing in the lower leagues in England could be vital for the success of this unit.
Strikers
This area of the team was something of a black hole last season as Edmonton struggled with scoring profligacy, and I don't think it would too far off base to wonder if there is a chance of similar problems manifesting as this year goes on.
Daryll Fordyce returns, but he has hardly set the league on fire in his time with Edmonton. Once-capped Canadian international Frank Jonke, just brought in after playing last season with FF Jaro in Finland, looks set to take the place of Michael Cox alongside Fordyce. Jonke looks to be the big, strong target striker Colin Miller would want and Neil Hlavaty would look for with crosses, but we'll have to see how he settles in with the level of play in the NASL. Tomi Ameobi, brother of Shola and Sammy Ameobi, is also aboard after earning his wages in both the lower leagues of England and Finland and provides another tall target.
Verdict
Yes, this FC Edmonton side has a bit of a new look to it, but the feeling is that Edmonton will continue to be Edmonton, encompassing the good at the bad that comes with that mantra. They'll continue to be tough, but is there a cutting edge? I'm afraid there's not enough of one, and that could certainly prove problematic when one looks at the landscape of the NASL at the moment.
The lower half of the table looks likely for FC Edmonton, but it won't be because they're losing time in and time out; it will be because there won't be enough goals scored to get all three points with enough frequency to keep pace.
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