Atlanta Silverbacks 2015

Let's start looking ahead to the 2015 season. We have a coach now (Gary Smith), and we've re-signed six players (Chavez-F, Cruz-M, Espinoza-D, Harlley-M, Poku-M/F, and Sousa-D/M). Eric Wynalda is gone. So where do we go from here?

I'm interested to see how this team takes shape. We've lost an excellent scout in Eric Wynalda, but I think the team has done a good job to hire Gary Smith. Will there be a clear departure from Wynalda's strategy of signing a Latino-heavy roster of flair players? Will Gary Smith bring in grind-it-out type players from the English lower leagues?

Both Joe Nasco and Matt Horth are available right now. I would like to see the 'Backs try to sign both of them. Any players that you would like to see signed?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Gary Smith brought in some players that were with him in Colorado. Here are a few I wouldn't mind seeing:

• Kosuke Kimura, defender - Just had his option declined by the Red Bulls and wasn't selected in the MLS Re-entry draft.
• Andre Akpan, forward - Never really distinguished himself in MLS but has good pedigree (former US U-20). I believe he's under contract with New England, but he never plays. We might be able to get him on loan.
• Wells Thompson, midfielder - Last played in MLS in 2013 with the Chicago Fire. He played for the Charlotte Eagles in the PDL last season. Not sure if he's under contract for next season.
• Colin Clark, midfielder - Played for the Colorado Rovers, a team in the Colorado Amateur Soccer League, last season. Was a pretty solid winger during his MLS days. I'd be interested to see if he has anything left in the tank.

In related news, former Silverbacks Danny Barrera, Pedro Mendes, and Mike Ambersley all had their options declined by their respective NASL teams. I wonder if we might see any of them return? Barrera's obviously talented, but a bit of a head case. I didn't watch much of Mendes last year, but he was solid with the Silverbacks in 2012-13. I think Ambersley would be a good pickup -- he's been a pretty consistent scorer in the NASL.

Thoughts?

 

Primero dios en las próximas semanas les daré noticias de mi nuevo club! Gracias por estar pendientes! Bendiciones!

— Junior Burgos (@juniorburgos10) January 5, 2015

My Spanish isn't very good, but "nuevo club" doesn't sound promising. Looks like Junior Burgos is gone.

 

Foxinc did some nice detective work yesterday. Here is official word from the club:

Silverbacks re-sign forward Matt Horth and bring in goalkeeper Steward Ceus

Anyone have any insight into what Ceus brings to the table?

Mike Randolph is officially gone as well. See the tweet below.

Excited to be joining @OttawaFuryFC this season. It's a great team, and we are going to do great things. Thanks for everyone's support!

— Michael Randolph (@m_rando6) January 14, 2015

 

In the past few weeks, the club has signed GK C.J. Cochran and defenders Christopher Christian and Rauwshan McKenzie. The club parted ways with defender Edgar Espinoza. The squad is slowly but surely coming together. Since the roster on the club's website is not correct, I have compiled a current (as of 3/18) roster below -- let me know if I'm missing someone.

I remember reading (I believe from Coach Smith) that the roster will be fairly small this year, so I think we can expect maybe 2-4 more players. The defense is coming together nicely, and we appear to be pretty stacked at forward. I think we need to sign a couple more midfielders and at least 1-2 more defenders (although Ferrety can also play there).

What do you guys think? I'm pleasantly surprised with the roster that's being assembled. Although, it's disappointing to have so few returning players. Pablo Cruz and Edgar Espinoza were two of my favorites, so it's tough to see them leave.

Goalkeepers
Steward Ceus
C.J. Cochran

Defenders
Paul Black
Rauwshan McKenzie
Simon Mensing
Kyle Miller
Christopher Christian

Midfielders
Ferrety Sousa
Alex Harlley
Jon Okafor
Dominic Oppong
Michael Reed

Forwards
Jaime Chavez
Shaka Bangura
Hans Denissen
Matt Horth
Kyle Porter