Valour FC added the 5th and 6th members of their promising squad on Tuesday, when they announced the signing of centre-back Jordan Murrell from Reno 1868 along with winger Glenn Muenkat from FC Kaiserslautern. These announcements pulled Valour level with York9, FC Edmonton, and Cavalry FC for the most signings up to this point, with 6.

Now that we have a clear look at how the squad is starting to shape up, it’s becoming clear that Rob Gale and his technical staff are putting serious emphasis on the central positions of the pitch, the ‘spine’ of the team.

Ask any coach, pundit, player, or avid fan – they’ll all tell you that the spine of the team is the most crucial part, at least when it comes to the starting XI. It’s what every good football team is built around. Sure, some of the best players in the world aren’t technically part of their team’s spine from a structural sense, such as Eden Hazard or Neymar, but these players are given a platform to thrive by teammates who play in central positions. It’s largely down to the players at goalkeeper, centre-back, centre-midfield, and centre-forward to keep goals out of the net, dictate the tempo of the game, build up play, or finish off a move with a goal.

The first signing was a crucial hint to how the club would go about building the roster – with 6’3 commanding centre-back Skylar Thomas being the first to don the valour maroon, wheat gold, and earth black. I didn’t just throw the word ‘commanding’ in there for no reason, Thomas is an imposing defender who is superb in the air and underrated on the ball, making him an important player right off-the-bat. Along with centre-back, the other positions that are considered within the ‘spine’ of the team are goalkeeper, centre midfield, and striker, as I mentioned earlier.

Well, 5 of the 6 players signed thus far fit right into one of those 4 positions.

Some really good recruitment work by Rob Gale so far, Skylar Thomas just the beginning and some potential future signings have me thinking Winnipeg should be one of, if not the strongest team on paper for year one. — Ryan Brandt (@Ryan_Brandt) December 12, 2018

The next player signed was international striker Stephen Hoyle, who was described as a “Rob Gale signing” by the CPL’s managing editor Kurt Larson. The centre-forward is the spearhead of the spine and in most cases, the entire team. Hoyle’s quality at the top end of the pitch will likely give Valour a goal-threat to build their final-third play around.

As promised, a couple of local boys made their way back home to become the 3rd and 4th signings in mid-December. Coming off a successful season where he was named MVP of League1 Ontario, midfielder Dylan Sacramento is an extremely exciting acquisition for Valour and especially its fans. The creative midfielder, has a knack for being ruthless in the final third, plus all the tools required to not only excel in this league, but be a fan favourite, due to his age, roots in the city, and connection to the name ‘Valour’. Goalkeeper Tyson Farago was the second Winnipegger signed, and his experience in goal and in the dressing room is likely to make a big impact on the rest of the team.

“You know, it’s funny…I knew there was a team coming to Winnipeg, but then when I saw it was going to be named Valour FC I thought to myself, ‘Man, if they don’t sign me they’re missing out on a huge story.’” Dylan Sacramento

Lastly, with the signing of Jordan Murrell yesterday, Valour have added another centre-back strengthening the stability of the spine. As of right now, the only player in the roster that isn’t nailed-on to play in a central position is Glenn Muenkat, a winger with experience on both flanks. Despite this, he has played central midfield in the past and has the technical quality to do so again, if required.

So, despite the fact that we are only 6 signings into the building of the Valour FC roster, which is likely to round out at about 20-25 players, we can already see that the structure of the team is being pieced together by Rob Gale and his staff. The spine is arguably the most important piece of the team. It’s what keeps the team strong at the back, controlled in midfield, and deadly in the final third. Valour FC’s commitment to constructing this area of the team is a sign of their intention – to be a strong football club.

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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.

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