Valour’s inaugural season didn’t go as planned, we all know that, but on the bright side, they have the chance to get rid of a lot of deadwood over the winter. While some players were signed to “multi-year deals”, these are actually just 1 year deals with either a club option to extend, or a mutual option to extend.

Therefore, Rob Gale and co will get to decide who to keep and who to let go this Winter, other than for the players who signed 1-year contracts: their future is their own decision. In this article, I will run through the Valour squad player-by-player, summarize the pros and cons of their performances this season, and then make a judgment on whether Valour should keep them around or not.

While players who signed 1-year deals such as Petrasso can choose to move on without anybody stopping them, for the sake of this article, I will treat every player as if they signed multi-year deals and Valour could keep or release anybody they wanted to:

GOALKEEPERS:

SASHA SEFTER / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Valour FC goalkeeper Tyson Farago takes part in drills during a practice at IG Field on Tuesday afternoon. 190730 – Tuesday, July 30, 2019.

Tyson Farago – 28 – Canadian

It was an odd season for Tyson Farago. He went into it as essentially the guaranteed starter, and ended it as arguably the 2nd best goalkeeper at Valour. While Farago’s hometown roots and experience no doubt made him the favourite to start, he made a few mistakes during the season and was clearly not as adept when playing the ball as his Belgian counterpart. Despite this, Farago is a good guy to keep around the club and is a good rotational goalkeeper at this level.

VERDICT: KEEP

Mathias Janssens – 21 – Belgium

While many questioned Valour’s decision to use up an international player slot on a goalkeeper, Mathias Janssens is someone who can seriously benefit the club in the long run. He is a young, modern goalkeeper who is only going to get better. While he too made his fair share of mistakes this season, he has a strong mentality and was always capable of bouncing back. It would be prudent for Valour to tie him down for at least the next 2 seasons, at worst, he becomes starter. At best, they can sell him on to bigger and better things while making a profit.

VERDICT: KEEP

DEFENDERS:

Raphael Garcia – 20 – Canadian

For a while Raphael Garcia was struggling to break into the Valour XI, but once he did, he performed rather admirably, especially when compared to some of the other defenders at the club. He is a good defender, and once he improves his play on the front foot, he can become a really good starter at this level.

VERDICT: KEEP

also, it goes without saying, but jordan murrell should be ashamed of his actions. i get that frustrations boiled over, and this was a real tough loss, but acting like that is inexcusable from a professional footballer, much less the captain of a team. i’m sure he will regret it — Justin (@Justin_L_99) August 5, 2019

Jordan Murrell – 26 – Canadian

When Murrell was signed, many expected him to become one of the leading centre-backs in the CanPL. While he was originally a left-back through his development, his transition to centre-back in the USL was smooth, and he played well for Reno in 2017-18 there as well. When he was named captain of Valour, expectations became even higher. It all came crashing down within a couple months, as the undersized Murrell became a liability for Valour in what quickly became a physical league. The cherry on top was his awful red card against HFX where he pushed a referee and kicked over a table that an old man was sitting at on his way to the locker room. That alone is worth releasing him for, let alone the poor performances.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Skylar Thomas – 26 – Canadian

While Skylar Thomas suits the physicality of the CanPL more than Murrell does, he also didn’t really live up to expectations this season. At 6’4, Thomas looked like a physically imposing centre-back, but proved to be a rather weak jumper with rather slow feet too, which became an issue both on and off the ball. While Thomas always looked to be a big target on offensive set pieces, I don’t recall him winning many headers on Valour corner kicks and free kicks, let alone scoring a goal from them. He also was hardly able to use his height to make a difference on defensive set-pieces, which was Valour’s achilles heel all season. Unless Gale can’t find a few good centre-backs, which seems unlikely, then Thomas should be gone too.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Adam Mitter – 26 – England

The signing of journeyman Adam Mitter, who has played for a ridiculous 14 clubs at age 26, was certainly a much-needed one for Valour. The team was struggling to sign centre-backs and his introduction gave them a bit of breathing room in the position. While Mitter is quite noticeably a leader for Valour on and off the pitch vocally, he doesn’t really lead by example, and quickly became overrated amongst the Valour fanbase. He did have some good performances, but there are certainly better options for an international spot.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Yohan Le Bourhis – 19 – Canadian

We didn’t get to see too much of mid-season signing Yohan Le Bourhis, mostly due to an injury he suffered near the end of the season, but as a 19 year old already getting picked up by a professional club, he clearly has a strong future ahead of him. Since he has plenty of room to grow, Valour should keep him around and give him the chance to develop.

VERDICT: KEEP

Martin Arguinarena – 26 – Uruguay

Heading into the season, Martin Arguinarena was considered one of the premier international signings in the entire Canadian Premier League. After all, he had experience in the Uruguayan top flight, which is a league of very good quality, and he was heading into his prime years. While his versatility aided Rob Gale’s side, his season-ending ACL injury suffered in the fall season might very well have signalled the end of his short career in Winnipeg. Had he stayed fit, he might have been able to stay and perhaps be aided by some better centre-backs next to him in 2020, but sticking with him through a lengthy injury might prove difficult for a team that wants a large revamp.

VERDICT: RELEASE

MIDFIELDERS:

Raphael Ohin – 24 – Ghana

It took a while for Raphael Ohin to start featuring regularly for Valour, but once he did, he became an instant fan-favourite, the way Winnipeggers who had tuned into WSA Winnipeg in previous years knew he would be. Ohin’s powerful, gung-ho style of play was a breath of fresh air at times, and really helped Louis Beland-Goyette produce better performances as the year went on. While he is still rather raw, he is versatile, useful, and adored by the fans – he is certainly someone to keep around.

VERDICT: KEEP

Diego Gutierrez – 22 – Canada

Right when you got your first look at Gutierrez in a Valour shirt, you could tell he was cut from a different cloth. His technical quality is impressive, no doubt due to his learnings in Chile, and while he’s relatively raw, he is still 22 and is one of the few players whose future should be invested into by Valour. He might be inclined to move away due to the nature of him being a utility player for this team playing in multiple different positions, but he has the potential to be a really important player for this team if he can lock down a permanent position in the XI.

VERDICT: KEEP

Louis Beland-Goyette – 24 – Canada

Funny, the only reason Louis Beland-Goyette was signed by Valour was because Colombian Nestor Navia couldn’t join the club due to personal reasons. While we may never know how Navia would’ve performed in the CanPL, Beland-Goyette overcame a slow start to become a consistent and top performer for Valour, even putting his name among the nominees for a team of the year spot. While he will almost certainly be on his way out due to him only signing a 1-year contract and also deserving of playing with a better team or at a higher level, I’m sure the coaching staff would love to keep him around if they could.

VERDICT: KEEP

Josip Golubar – 34 – Croatia

Without a doubt, one of the reasons Valour struggled to much in the Spring season was the absence of Josip Golubar, who went down with a season-ending ACL injury just a few matches into the season. In pre-season and the opening few games, Golubar didn’t particularly stand out, but was an experienced and steady figure that the club truly missed until they brought in Jose Galan to play a similar role. At Golubar’s age, and with his serious injury, it’s probably best for both parties to cut ties.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Just got off the phone with Winnipegger Dylan Carreiro who scored the game-winner for Valour FC tonight. #CanPL



Carreiro on what head coach Rob Gale said to him before putting him in the game in the 65th minute: pic.twitter.com/EO38DmQhFk — Taylor Allen (@TaylorAllen31) May 2, 2019

Dylan Carreiro – 24 – Canada

One of the more inconsistent performers for Valour in their inaugural season was home-grown Dylan Carreiro, who was the 2nd overall pick in the USports draft last season. Carreiro started the season as a potential starter, but quickly fell down the pecking order, before making a small resurgence toward the end of the season. His versatility is great, and while he is a Winnipegger who will likely struggle to take a step up in his career, it might be best for Valour to find a player that brings more quality in the middle of the park.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Jose Galan – 33 – Spain

While plenty of people weren’t particularly fans of Valour signing up a couple of 33-year-old internationals midway through the season, there’s no denying that Jose Galan brought a lot of stability to Rob Gale’s team. The Spaniard, who has had one of the craziest journeyman careers I’ve ever seen, was able to do plenty of the dirty work in the midfield that allowed the likes of Beland-Goyette and Bustos to thrive. Galan was also a hit with the fans, with his vibrant and positive personality becoming infectious and likeable. He is someone to keep around, at least for another season.

VERDICT: KEEP

Nicolas Galvis – 22 – Canada

Yet another disappointing performer, one of far too many for Valour, was Nicolas Galvis, who struggled to find a place in the XI all season long. While he is still young with plenty of room to grow, he didn’t give us enough signs in the 2019 season that his potential is worth investing in. The only time he really looked like breaking into the XI was when Gale played him at left wing-back in a 3-4-3 system, but then the dreaded 8-0 loss to Cavalry came around, and Galvis’ performance was so disastrous that Gale never game him another shot.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Dylan Sacramento – 24 – Canada

While you could certainly argue that Sacramento never hit the heights expected of him, especially after capturing the 2018 League1 Ontario MVP award, he was an exciting and useful player throughout the inaugural CanPL season. While he has already technically been released by the club in order to play in New Zealand with Hawke’s Bay United, Gale should be looking to bring him back. However, I can only see Sacramento agreeing to return if Gale can promise to play him in his favoured number 10 position more often.

VERDICT: KEEP

It's not been Valour's year but here's a big-picture positive: until this year, this country was producing talents like Marco Bustos and sending them packing to 20 minutes off the bench for bottom-half USL teams. Now he has a team built around him and is so fun to watch. #CanPL — Oliver Platt (@plattoli) October 3, 2019

Marco Bustos – 23 – Canada

One of the best signings in the entire inaugural CanPL season was the signing of Marco Bustos. He was a difficult player to capture without a doubt, but one who was well worth the trouble, as he became one of the premier attackers in the entire division. With Bustos being just 23, he is a player who Valour need to build around as the years go by – he is well worth taking the risk for.

VERDICT: KEEP

FORWARDS:

Ali Musse – 23 – Canadian

A rough and tumble first professional year comes to a close for Winnipegger Ali Musse, and you get the sense that he never really got to show us what he was made of. A lengthy mid-season injury halted his engines for quite some time, and he was never able to lock down a starting spot because of it. If Musse can stay fit next season, it’s very possible that he makes a big impact. I say we give him that opportunity.

VERDICT: KEEP

Michael Petrasso – 24 – Canada

Well, you already know the answer to this one. Right from the start, you could tell that Petrasso was a cut above basically every other player in this Valour team, and above every other player in the league bar a few. For that alone, it’s likely that he looks to take the next step in his career this winter, perhaps aiming to go back to the MLS, or back to Europe – a level he belongs at. He is free to do whatever he likes of course, since his 1-year contract has expired already, but if the Valour coaches had a say in this, they’d probably be begging him to stick around for another year.

This is what’s Michael Petrasso’s March tying goal looked like pitchside. #CanPL pic.twitter.com/FdD8kG5MgP — Ryan Brandt (@Ryan_Brandt) August 1, 2019

VERDICT: KEEP

Glenn Muenkat – 20 – Canada

Glenn Muenkat might very well have a lot of promise as a footballer, but he never really showed us that with Valour this season. Apart from a couple decent cameos off the bench, he never really got going in his first professional season, and Valour doesn’t have the cap space to take such big gambles with youngsters who failed in their first-team chances. Along with this, Muenkat was also caught bad-mouthing Winnipeg on a teammates Instagram story, which all but killed his reputation amongst the Valour fanbase.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Michele Paolucci – 33 – Italian

Yet another player who will likely be affected by the rumoured changes to the international rule in the CanPL, Paolucci was brought in halfway through the season to counter the loss of Stephen Hoyle. While Paolucci was a cut above both Hoyle and Ferguson, he also went down the same path as the both of them, in being overshadowed by young Tyler Attardo. Paolucci may very well be a valuable presence in the locker room, but his ability is only going to decline, and it might be prudent to bring in someone younger to try and get the goals alongside Attardo next season.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Calum Ferguson – 24 – Canadian

One of the biggest mysteries of Valour’s season, was how on earth Calum Ferguson was deemed good enough to make the 23-man roster for this team. He is hard-working in training and clearly has a vibrant personality, but there’s hardly any room in the game of football for short, slow, unathletic strikers, especially in a physical league like the CanPL. Throughout his entire career, Ferguson has found it nearly impossible to find the back of the net, and the Inverness-born forward now only has 3 goals in his 52-game professional career, which has mostly been spent in the 3rd and 4th divisions in Scotland. It’s nothing against him personally, but at 24 he also isn’t going to get any better. There are much better ways to use a roster spot.

VERDICT: RELEASE

Federico Pena – 20 – Canada

We hardly got to see Federico Pena in the inaugural CanPL season, and that truly was a shame, since the hometown player has the capacity to be an electric, dangerous winger on his day. It’s probably best for his development to stick around for at least another year in his hometown and look to break into the first XI next year. There’s no doubt in my mind that he has the potential to do so.

VERDICT: KEEP

Tyler Attardo – 18 – Canada

There was no greater surprise, perhaps in the entire CanPL, than the play of Tyler Attardo in the inaugural season. Initially expected to be nothing but a squad player and a project for the future due to his age, Attardo eventually became one of the premier sources of goals for the team, also challenging for a starting spot throughout the year. His development has been a pleasant surprise, and at just 18, he is bound to get even better as he continues to get professional minutes. I say he sticks around for another year or two before taking the leap up to a more competitive level.

VERDICT: KEEP

Like what you read? Become a Patron.

Mahith Gamage Website An avid football fan right from his first experiences with the sport, Mahith Gamage has been dabbling in football journalism for a few years now, creating his own world football blog and podcast, freeflow football, whilst featuring frequently on many other football media outlets, covering European football. With the start of the Canadian Premier League in 2019, Mahith began coverage of his hometown club, Valour FC, through NSXI. He enjoys spreading his knowledge and opinions of the beautiful game to fellow football fanatics in Canada and throughout the world, using articles and tweets, thriving particularly on tactical analysis and player scouting. You can find him tweeting about world football day and night, at @mahithgamage.

Share with a Friend Facebook

Twitter

Reddit

LinkedIn

WhatsApp

Telegram

Email



Like this: Like Loading...