The Eddies in Scotland: A Preview
A changed squad, a new setting. Will this be the cure to FC Edmonton’s historical early-season woes? Here, we look at where they’re staying, and preview each of the four opponents and what to expect over the next two weeks.
A lot of locations are going to be dropped on you as you read this. Feel free to look at this map to get an idea of where the team will go.
The Setting
The Eddies are staying in Stirling for the duration of this trip. A town of 90,000 about a 40 minute drive away from the relatively brighter lights of Glasgow, and an hour out from Edinburgh. A good look at the Destination Stirling website shows that it is a quaint town, whose main attractions do not stray far from the history and natural beauty of the place.
Anyone who has been following FC Edmonton for the last few seasons will know that the Eddies have had notoriously slow starts. The view of many around the club is that a distraction-free environment, added with the fact that there is more than a fair share of football that can be taken in nearby will hopefully provide focus and pay dividends for the squad.
The squad will train daily at Galaxy Sports Little Kerse, just 20 minutes away from Stirling. The facility at Little Kerse is a large facility that boasts a full-size FIFA 2-star artificial turf pitch, among other smaller artificial and full-size natural grass ones.
We also would be remiss if we did not talk about the weather. It appears to hover around 10° for a large part of the week with not much sun.
What to look out for
FCE plays a smaller number of preseason games than most other clubs in the league, due to several constraints such as weather and lack of full-size training facilities in the city. This has forced the club to travel to warmer climates for a week or two thus leading to condensed schedule of matches for the squad to build their fitness with.
Historically, the staff has gone about these matches by naming a lineup in the first match that is close to the opening day one, and having them play at least a half. The starting lineup is then subbed off at or around halftime. Subsequent matches will see this first lineup continue to start and play an increasing amount of minutes.
At the onset of the trip, the first three matches will take place 2 days apart from each other. This could be by design or just the time constraints of trying to get in more matches in a week and half, or both.
Strength of Opposition
Given the preseason approach mentioned above, the strength of FCE’s opposition might not ultimately matter for the earlier matches. Given the fact that all the Scottish sides are in the midst of their seasons, they may as well be inclined to rest more of their key players, whilst giving their bench and some of their youth prospects a run out.
Partick Thistle (Sunday, 4 am MST)
Partick Thistle are getting closer to a crucial point in the Scottish Premier season. After 33 rounds, the league is split into a top and bottom half whose teams only play within their side of the split to close the season out. Thistle is currently sitting 8th but may be too far back to contend for a European spot and are only 6 points clear from the relegation playoff. Finishing higher than 8th should put to bed most of those worries.
FCE will likely not see Thistle’s strongest side as they have just played to a 2–1 loss to league leaders Celtic just a few hours ago. The match also will not be played at the Jags’ home stadium at Firhill and will instead be played at New Tinto Park. The home ground of Benburb F.C. in the SJFA, it is an artificial pitch built and opened in 2014, replacing the old ground that used to look like this:
As stated previously, FCE may likely cycle through the entirety of the squad in this match, giving the staff time to evaluate a look at all the players and experiment with certain player combinations. While the staff may have an established lineup already set in mind, this will be the best opportunity for those to solidify their positions if they have not done so already. Likewise, it is also the last chance for certain players to surprise FCE followers and make a push to make the first lineup against Rayo OKC.
Airdrieonians (Tuesday, 12:45 pm MST)
Airdrie are currently in a tight race for 4th place and the final promotion playoff spot, leading only on goal difference. The match with FCE takes place midweek but could be far enough from the weekend for them to use at least some of their starters and other first team players. The Diamonds lost their match 2–0 to last place Brechin City today, and will want to bounce back. Additionally, the match appears to be a testimonial of sorts, so there may be an added emotional element to the match for them as well.
Airdrie is stating that this match will be taking place on their usual ground, and may be the best attended out of all of FCE’s matches on the tour. It is also the only ticketed one.
Given the potential heavy rotation two days prior, there is less risk of tiring out the squad. This may be the first match where we may see the true first signs of the opening day lineup. The starters who appear to have established their spot in the lineup may play longer, but likely not much more than an hour. At the positions where more evaluation is needed, we may see rotation earlier to see how they pair up with the established starters.
Newcastle U-21 (Friday, 7 am MST)
In addition to being a Premier League youth squad, the U-21s are also an opportunity for first team players rehabbing from injury to play. One caveat is that the U21s do not play week-to-week and so this is a unique opportunity for minutes for not only reserves, but any potential first-team members coming back from injury or have not featured for a while. Of note, Newcastle have been rather unfortunate with injury problems this season, as somewhat hilariously and statistically demonstrated here.
But, while it is interesting to note who on the first team could suit up against FCE, the likelihood of that happening remains unknown. Newcastle will be facing eternal rival Sunderland—ahead of them in Premier League safety by one point—that weekend, making those odds a bit longer.
Fabrizio Coloccini is perhaps the most notable name on the road to recovery. The captain has missed the last few matches to injury but signs are pointing to him returning to the lineup to face Sunderland. Striker Papiss Cisse was injured in December and has not played since, it is speculated that he has recovered but is still doubtful and will need match fitness. New signing Andros Townsend and Cheick Tiote are also on their way back from knocks.
Newcastle has also just appointed Rafa Benitez as their new manager yesterday. He will have to have a good look at his squad before playing leaders Leicester on Monday, but the sheer luck of timing could mean that the match with FCE is his first chance to evaluate the fringes of his squad.
FCE’s approach to this match will likely see the established starters receive anywhere from 70 minutes to a full 90 minutes. This may be the last chance for those on the fringes to make a case to be starters or the go-to man off the bench when certain circumstances arise.
Queen’s Park (Tuesday after next, 12:30 pm MST)
The Spiders are in the League Two promotion playoff mix in 4th place but only 6 points back of the lead and automatic promotion with lots to play for. This match comes at a decent time between matches in the midweek, so we may see some of their regulars play.
Queen’s Park has several distinctions in the Scottish Football League; first as being the only fully amateur side currently in the professional system, and also being the oldest club in the FA. The club has continuously been in operation since 1867 and is one of the SFA’s founding members.
Queen’s Park plays their home matches at the massive and historic Hampden Park—home of the national team, and host of several European club finals—usually to a very empty stadium. Here are some highlights from last week:
While it is not known if the club will play on the hallowed ground, it will be nothing short of surreal to see FCE play in such a storied place. Alternatively, the match may be on the artificial turf of Lesser Hampden instead, just outside its bigger namesake.
Coming four days after the match with Newcastle, this final match of the tour may be the most indicative of what Miller’s plan is for the squad. The match could be approached and managed like it’s an official one. Even with a lot of subs at their disposal we may not see extensive use of them to give as many of the starters something close to a full run out. Any subs aside from the “normal” three might only be used in for particular circumstances, such as injuries or fatigue.
Offensively, look for how FCE set themselves up for attack and what scoring opportunities and rewards come of it. Look out for what combinations of players create the most chances. Will the squad shift to a rumoured 4–4–2? Will they continue to focus on the wings or are the new offensive signings a signal of a new approach up the middle? On the defensive side, try to see how the addition of Ledgerwood limits attacks up the middle or not, and what defensive pairing will anchor the back line and how many chances they give up.
Chemistry and fitness are the focus of this preseason tour, so final scores of each of these matches should not be the ultimate bearing of how “successful” this preseason went. Instead what we should look out for is to see how well this team can play together on all parts of the pitch.
The story of the season is being written, and these are the notes.
