Former coach Miller talks about demise of Eddies
Outgoing coach points accusing finger at politicians after FC Edmonton folds
Colin Miller hopes the city can learn from the demise of FC Edmonton.
The former head coach of the professional soccer club, who along with the rest of the technical staff was officially released Monday, feels the Eddies didn’t get a fair shake from city hall.
“Hopefully, this message here now is strong enough for the City of Edmonton, the ones that run the city, to go; ‘Wait a minute, this is the world’s best sport, the world’s most popular sport, and we’re just going to let this go down here,’ and that’s not good enough and that can’t be acceptable,” Miller said. “How the club was treated at times by the city was disgusting. It was just shocking, some of the things that happened and how we were treated.
“I can assure you, it wasn’t cheap to rent that stadium on a daily basis, to rent the field house for pre-season and things like that. The money that Tom Fath has put into the club has been amazing, and part of that money went toward the City of Edmonton and paying bills.”
After seven seasons, owners Tom and Dave Fath have pulled the plug on the club, ending the latest incarnation of professional soccer in the city. The uncertainty of the North American Soccer League, along with mounting financial losses and the inability to get the city to help build a soccer-specific stadium, forced the brothers to mothball the club.
“When you have owners the quality of Tom and Dave Fath, not many people understand just how good an ownership that is,” Miller said.
“I think the City of Edmonton has to wake up now and realize that there is a professional football club that’s desperate to be loved. They need to recognize the work that has gone on to make FC Edmonton a solid professional football franchise in Canada and in North America.”
Miller, a former Canadian international, spent five seasons as head coach of FC Edmonton. He led the club to its only playoff berth under the NASL’s split-season format in 2016.
Last season, FC Edmonton had a disappointing year, finishing near the bottom of the league standings and well out of the playoff race.
“I was so proud to be the manager of the club for five seasons. I owe an incredible amount of gratitude to Tom and Dave Fath for their support over the five years, and thank you to the staff who supported me and worked with me, rather than for me,” Miller said. “They were very supportive and it was excellent. And the players, for the most part over the five years, they were terrific to work with.
“I’m actually very proud of how competitive the club became over the five years. Last season was very disappointing. I think it was a wee bit unfair where we finished up, because I think there were times where we deserved to win or even tie in some of those losses.”
A Vancouver resident, Miller spent an enormous amount of time away from his family to manage the club. A strong proponent of Canadian soccer, he worked hard to promote national talent.
“I really want to thank the support that I had from my family,” he said. “As you know, I lived in Edmonton on my own for nine months of the year. I’m home now, and in fact, I’ve been home about a month now, so the wife is almost getting tired of me and wanting me out of the house now.”
Miller admits he evolved during his time in Edmonton. As coach, he had to deal with a number of issues away from the field.
The NASL was downgraded to Division 3 status by the United States Soccer Federation for the upcoming season, which put its future in jeopardy. Currently, the league is litigating in an attempt to restore its Division 2 status.
“I think I’ve changed dramatically from the Colin Miller who arrived, who was almost an angry guy, it seemed, to a guy who now is a bit more mellow, a bit more thoughtful in what he says, although he’s still very passionate about the game and the club,” he said. “I believe I did change. I changed as a coach, I was willing to try different things and different systems of play and things like that. And I think I’ve come away from FC Edmonton now a better, well-rounded manager and coach. And some of the situations I had to deal with, you couldn’t script it.”