Two year RailHawks' veterans and fixtures in the Carolina starting lineup since the team's inception, Chris McClellan and David Stokes will not be back for the 2009 season. The pair have not been re-signed by coach Martin Rennie for the upcoming league campaign.
McClellan joined the RailHawks' in 2007 after coming through the open tryouts process and beating out expected regular starter John O'Hara for the lead goalkeeping spot. The RailHawks' #0 started 55 of 58 regular season games for Carolina over two seasons, amassing a 1.24 goals against average during his career in the Triangle.
Stokes anchored the RailHawks' defense in 2007 and helped establish it as one of the stingiest in the league during the inaugural season campaign. In 2008, Stokes' scored his only point for the RailHawks in his 34 league games, a goal from a Steven Curfman corner to salvage a draw at home against Seattle.
The Carolina RailHawks have announced another MAJOR signing today with the news that former Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers defender Paul Ritchie has joined the club.
Paul Simon Ritchie began his career with Heart of Midlothian of Scotland’s Premier League in 1992, where he quickly gained a reputation as a promising defender, earning a regular first team place and winning Scotland under-21 caps. He had 133 appearances with Hearts, his favorite team, and scored six goals. After seven years in Scotland, Richie went to the Bolton Wanderers of the English Coca Cola Championship. While at Bolton, he helped the team reach the FA Cup and League Cup semifinals.
In 2000, Ritchie transferred to Glasgow Rangers but was immediately sold to Manchester City of England’s Premier League. While at City he had the opportunity to play with players of the caliber of Claudio Reyna and for current New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio. After a brief stint on loan at Portsmouth and Derby County, Ritchie transferred to Wallsall of England’s League One, before ending at Dundee United where he was also one of the captains of the team.
Paul Ritchie has also represented Scotland in several U-21 matches and seven first team matches. He scored his first and only goal against the Czech Republic in 1999 and has played against England and Germany among others.
WOW! Between Romero and Ritchie, our defense is going to be one of the most skilled that USL has ever seen!!!
According to TSN.ca, RailHawks minority owner Bob Young apparently believes his investment in the Carolina RailHawks' is so wise, he is looking to purchase a second team through his Canadian Football League interests in Hamilton, Ontario:
"As a minority owner of the USL's Carolina Railhawks, I'm personally aware of the growing popularity of USL soccer across North America and would be thrilled to see a Hamilton team play in a league with the great Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps franchises," Young said in a statement.
"We have been investigating the economic viability of a professional soccer team in Hamilton for a number of years and with the possibility of a new stadium on the horizon, we felt that this is the right time to begin the application process."
The RailHawks launched today what looks to be a very cool feature on their website -- new Carolina signing Brian Plotkin has started what is promised to be a regular blog on the website to keep folks abreast of what is going on with the team, from a unique perspective...inside the locker room.
In his first article, Brian recounts "Getting RailHawked" by Carolina when he last played in Cary, as a member of the Chicago Fire in the 2007 US Open Cup, what some of the early training sessions have been like, and how much he's enjoying his new home in the Triangle.
It's great that Brian is taking the time out after training to contribute his blog to the website!
TSF is pleased to announce that 2009 TSF Members will be receiving a free Carolina RailHawks car magnet as part of their 2009 membership pack. The magnet resembles a bumper sticker, but attaches to your car magnetically, and can be moved from vehicle to vehicle.
This magnet is not available for purchase and can only be obtained by joining Triangle Soccer Fanatics for the 2009. Click here to sign up and receive this exclusive car magnet and all the other great benefits of TSF membership.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, TSF Members were treated to a first look at the new RailHawks' side on Friday as Carolina scrimmaged NC State. Many folks have asked me my thoughts on the new team so I thought I'd share some of my initial impressions here.
First, let me say that I'm not a soccer coach, nor do I claim to be a soccer pundit. I'm simply a fan that enjoys watching entertaining soccer. I have a feeling that Martin Rennie's team is going to treat us all to that this season after what I saw on Friday.
To start, I thought I'd share this video I shot with a little handheld camera during the scrimmage. It's not Setanta Sports quality coverage but it should give you an initial impression of the style of play.
Realizing of course that this was early days of training camp and there are at least three likely starters that weren't even in camp (Mark Schulte, Matt Watson, and our mystery "premier league experienced" player the RailHawks have been teasing us with in their press releases), I really liked what I saw. It was raw and there were plenty of players out there that will likely not make the final team. It was also clear that they are still learning each other's playing style but I was impressed at how quickly the team has come together given the number of changes from last year.
I love the 4-3-3 that Rennie employs. We played extremely high, and NC State couldn't bring the ball out of their end with any effectiveness. Eventually they just resorted to long balls to try and gain some ground. With the forwards playing so high, we ended getting lots of plays down deep in the corners with whipped crosses in to a target man in the middle. Our team played very fast, one touch soccer through the midfield and the players cycled very well, interchanging positions quite often. But most impressive to me was how quickly they'd switch ball laterally, using every inch side-to-side of that FIFA regulation width pitch at WakeMed.
Regulars from last season who were in camp: Diallo, McClellan, Stokes, Low, Norkus, Curfman, and Fusilier (who did not play with a minor knock but said he'd be back in camp Monday) and of course trialist Edozien. They all looked solid, but the one that really caught my eye was Curfman. He was playing right back in the 4-3-3 with Norkus at centerback. Curfs would cycle forward and had license to roam in Rennie's system. He made several great overlapping runs without the ball as well as driving forward on the dibble several times through the midfield. His play almost paid off when they found him on a great run inside the box and he volleyed off the crossbar from about 8 yards out.
Of the new guys on the team, I spent most of the time just trying to figure out names and which ones were actually signed players versus trialists trying to catch on with the team. Since there was no published matchday roster, the best I could do was identify about half of the players there.
For me, I really enjoyed watching Aaron King play the left forward in a 4-3-3. He never found his mark on the crosses Friday, but he was threatening every time. He even once threw out a couple of step overs (a la Christiano Ronaldo) which caught the eye.
Paladini and Kreamalmeyer worked well together out on the right and Brian Plotkin surprised me with his directness in attacking midfield play. There were a few trialists playing up top in the 2nd session whose names I didn't catch, but based on their play, we may be hearing more about them soon.
Of course the main event was the 3rd session of the day when Romero stepped on the pitch. I'd been waiting eagerly to see if he came ready to play. By all appearances, he looked the real deal to me. He played a great role as a defensive midfield disruptor and swung the ball side-to-side through midfield very quickly. His touch is incredibly light, moving the ball easily in a tight midfield with little effort. It's clear this guy has played at a level that most USL-1 players only dream of.
Needless to say, I was pretty excited with what I saw. A few more weeks of practice and we're going to give New England Revolution a good game come March 14th. Don't miss it!
On Friday afternoon, the Carolina RailHawks took on NC State in a closed-door scrimmage. Coach Martin Rennie invited TSF Members (join now) for a private "first look" at his new RailHawks' side. What we saw was impressive, and I'll report more on that later, but one thing that really caught my attention was who played the third session of the 3, 30 minute informal scrimmages up top with Hamed Diallo.
All-time RailHawks leading scorer Connally Edozien is back in town, on trial with the RailHawks. Even more exciting for RailHawks' fans is that Edozien has shown up in camp looking considerably more fit than he was last season after undergoing an off-season hernia repair. In fact, I didn't recognize him at first, asking a member of the RailHawks' staff, 'Who's number 24...the guy that looks like Connally Edozien's little brother?"
With the number of RailHawks departing after the past two seasons, it's nice to see a link to the past back in camp. Good luck Connally...with what we saw yesterday up top, you've got your work cut out for you.
The most revealing answer, and the one that should get fans excited about the offensive-mindedness of the new gaffer, is his admission that he prefers to play a 4-3-3 or even a 3-4-3 depending on the competition. I realize that a 4-3-3 is only subtlety different than the 4-3-2-1 "Christmas Tree" employed by Rennie's predecessor...but those few yards of position and attacking mentality should make all the difference when it comes entertainment at WakeMed Soccer Park this season.
The Carolina RailHawks are holding open tryouts this weekend from 10am-1pm on both Saturday and Sunday. After the tryouts on Saturday, February 14th, the RailHawks will be hosting a meet and greet for fans to get an opportunity to meet our new coach Martin Rennie and some of his new signings. Expected to appear at the event from 1:30p - 2:15p on Saturday are the following players:
Carolina has announced the signing of 2008 USL-2 Champion Jeremy Tolleson from the Cleveland City Stars and former Real Salt Lake and Chicago Fire defender Jack Stewart to shore up the defense.
The American Outlaws and Triangle Soccer Fanatics invite all US Men's National Team fans to join us on Wednesday, February 11th at 7pm at XL Soccer World to watch the Americans kickoff the final round of 2010 World Cup qualifying against our arch rivals Mexico.
XL Soccer World is located at 5600 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. If you happen to show up a few minutes early, be sure to come over and cheer on the TSF Indoor Team who will be playing at 6:15pm on Field 2!
The Carolina RailHawks are hosting press conference at 1pm Thursday afternoon to announce a marquee signing who should anchor the midfield of Rennie's new look RailHawks in 2009. The official site has a bit of tease on it today...
Who is the Mystery Player?
The Carolina RailHawks will announce a new marquee player tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park. This player is sure to excite soccer fans of all ages as he comes straight from spending the last seven years in the Spanish First Division "La Liga".
This player has had an impressive career in his home country in South America, in Spain and for his national team. He has won three national titles in his home country, he participated in three Copa Libertadores and he played in the 2002 World Cup.
Throughout his career this midfielder has played alongside the greatest players in the world, Zidane, Beckham, Figo and Ronaldinho to name a few. So who is this player?..... Stay tuned to our website tomorrow to find out!
Be sure to check out CarolinaRailHawks.com to find out all the details after 1pm Thursday!
David Fellerath has a short interview with returning RailHawk Matt Watson clarifying his situation with San Jose of MLS and detailing why exactly the 2008 Carolina MVP chose to return to The Triangle for another season.
New RailHawks' coach Martin Rennie is bringing one of his biggest assets from Cleveland with him to Carolina -- two-time USL-2 defender of the year Mark Schulte -- according to this press release on CarolinaRailHawks.com.
Schulte is an experienced defender who has played in Major League Soccer, the USL and abroad. Schulte was the first American to ever play in Uruguay. He was most recently with the Cleveland City Stars of the USL Second Division where he spent the last two seasons. Schulte was instrumental in helping the City Stars capture the 2008 USL-2 Title and was named MVP of the Championship match.
Schulte was drafted by the Tampa Bay Mutiny of MLS in 2000 but was sent to the Minnesota Thunder on loan. He spent three years in Minnesota before signing for ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar of the Icelandic First Division in 2004. In 2005 he signed with Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew where he saw action in 19 games. He then signed with the Montevideo Wanderers in Uruguay making him the first American to play in the South American country.
As part of our continuing partnership with the American Outlaws, 2009 TSF members in good standing (join now) are now able to purchase discount tickets to the US Men's National Team World Cup Qualifier in Nashville scheduled for April 1.
The match will be held played at LP Field Tickets are available at The American Outlaws website. Prices are $22 for members, $27 for non-members. Airfare from RDU is currently around $165 roundtrip.
Individual tickets for the RailHawks' “Community Shield” match against Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution will go on sale Tuesday, February 3, at 9:00 a.m.
Tickets will be available at the LGFCU Box Office at WakeMed Soccer Park, online at www.carolinarailhawks.com, and charge by phone at (919) 859-KICK (5425). Advance tickets for the “Community Shield” match are $10, $15, & $20 for Spectator, Premium, and Club Level seating, respectively. Day of Game prices are $2 more for each category.
