When Ottawa Fury FC takes the pitch in April of 2016 for its third campaign in the North American Soccer League, it will look vastly different than its November 2015 NASL Championship Final iteration.
Gone from last season’s Ottawa’s NASL runner-up squad are its captain, 30 year-old Irishman Richie Ryan (Jacksonville, NASL), its tactical mastermind, manager Marc Dos Santos (Swope Park Rangers, USL), and leading defender Ryan Richter (Tampa, NASL) amongst many others.
Winds of Change Sweep Through Ottawa Fury FC
Into their places slide new gaffer Paul Dalglish, formerly of USL’s Austin Aztex and son of legendary Kenny Dalglish, and his first three signings; Jamaican striker Dennis Chin, American holding midfielder Lance Rozeboom, and Brazilian fullback Fernando Timbo. The latter two spent 2015 playing for Dalglish in Austin.
With a struggling Canadian dollar, it was not a surprise to see Ottawa let three of the highest-paid members of its 2015 squad — the aforementioned Ryan and Richter (Tampa) along with frontman Tom Heinemann (also Tampa) — head for the green-backed pastures of blossoming American clubs. The fact the club received a ‘sizeable’ transfer fee for Ryan was a nice bonus; Dalglish did exceptionally well to glean any kind of fee for a 30 year-old midfielder with bad knees.
The patterns of the team’s offseason moves are quite clear; younger, cheaper, and more direct. Dennis Chin brings the kind of game-breaking pace the club lacked sorely in its first two seasons, while Rozeboom and Timbo are both quality north-south players that will have an adjustment to make in the more possession-based NASL.
Ottawa also announced the re-signing of midfielders Mauro Eustaquio and Julian De Guzman on Wednesday. While De Guzman will likely have Canadian national commitments and is well onto the wrong side of thirty, Eustaquio could be the no-nonsense, responsible midfielder that Dalglish is looking for. With two years as Richie Ryan’s understudy under his belt, the Luso-Canadian Eustaquio is more than ready to play a leading role in the heart of Fury’s midfield. Perhaps Dalglish will give him more offensive leeway than his predecessor; Ottawa supporters haven’t had the opportunity to see Eustaquio in an attacking role, and his big frame might have more scoring potential than previously indicated.
With plenty of roster spots still to be filled, Dalglish and his staff — headed by returning assistant Martin Nash — will be scouring the globe and bouncing ideas off of contacts in the hopes of filling out a competitive roster. Expect more announcements — and more Canadian players — in the coming weeks.
