Fans Furious as Freezers Acquire and then Lose Tejeda

FC Whitehorse Freezers surprised a lot of people in the CSL when they purchased star defender Iban Tejeda from fellow CSL club Presbyterian Express for $1 million. However, the club then sold Tejeda to Brazilian club El Boltos FC for a $3.15 million transfer fee, leaving fans puzzled and disappointed.

Manager Raley Treffle said in a recent interview that he understood the fans' frustration, but felt that this was the best decision for the long term future of the club. "It obviously doesn't look good at first glance" said Treffle. "We made the move to sign Tejeda because we believe that he's a star player who could improve our club immediately. The problem is that our goals aren't simply to be better, but rather to be good enough to compete for championships. Ultimately, we felt that the offer that was made for him by the Bolts was too good for us to pass up. Now, we have some extra money to go out and spend on top talent, and that is absolutely what we intend to do. I'm asking people to wait and see what happens."

Despite this, fans of the Freezers were understandably disappointed by the development. "It feels like a total bait and switch" said Freezers season ticket holder Lucy Goddard. "This is a team that could be a couple really good players away from being competitive week in, week out. And to go out and get a player of that calibre only to sell him immediately doesn't inspire confidence." Tanner Lane, the president of the Blizzard Brigade, the largest Freezers supporters' group, echoed that sentiment. "Players like Iban Tejeda don't come around everyday" said Lane. "It takes courage to go out and make a move like that to acquire a player like that. It takes cowardice to then go and take the money instead. Balance sheets don't win championships, players do."

The Freezers also announced that midfielder Kaidan Lemoine has been sold to the Manitoba Moos. The 20 year old midfielder played 66 matches in his 2 years in Whitehorse, scoring 4 goals. 

We will continue to monitor the fallout from this move and all of the other transactions in the coming weeks.

FC Whitehorse Freezers - Season 101 Review

The second season of Canadian Soccer League action has come and gone for FC Whitehorse, and while expectations rose in advance of the season, the results ultimately did not rise with them. An exciting and back-and-forth 4-3 loss at home to Canadian Lionpack is the type of game the Freezers hoped to play all season, but the overall result paints a nuanced and frustrating picture.

With an average of just under 22,000 fans at every home match, the Freezers were 17th in the league in home attendance. President Jaheem Byam spoke after his club's final match and expressed an understandable disappointment at the lack of progress. "Stagnation is a difficult thing in football" said Byam. "As a club, we want to move into the next tier in the standings. The problem is that there are a bunch of other clubs hungry to do exactly the same. Outperforming a league like this is really difficult to do, and frankly, everyone here knows that we need to be doing more. The fans here are passionate, but they want to be watching their team win matches, and we simply did not do that enough this year." Asked about his own future in football, the soon to be 70 year old was adamant that he still had the necessary drive to compete. "Retirement isn't in my plans anytime soon, at least voluntarily" joked Byam. My goal remains moving this club to be the best that it can. And I know that I still have that fire. And looking around this organization, there are a lot of people ready for much more."

FC Whitehorse finished their second season in the top tier with an 8-5-25 record, which put them in 16th place in the league table. That is an improvement of 5 league points and one place, much lower than was expected of the club. It was a tale of 3 managers this season for the Freezers. The club's original manager Oros Bala lost his first 6 matches this season before his contract was terminated. His former assistant Corwyn Westlake became the interim manager, finishing with a 5-4-15 record before his term was ended by the club. The new permanent manager is Raley Treffle, who ended the season on a bit of a high note, with a 3-1-4 record.

Defensively, the Freezers didn't improve much from last year conceding 106 goals (17th in the league). The 51 goals they scored (14th) were a solid improvement over the 31 scored a year ago. Whitehorse was close to the midtable in terms of shots taken and allowed, so they will need to do a better job in the future converting on their opportunities and not allowing their opponents to score as easily. The team remained very disciplined and only had 21 yellow cards (3rd) and 2 reds (T5th).

While manager Raley Treffle does want things to turn around for Whitehorse, he wanted to emphasize the need to allow the younger players to develop. "Patience is very much like money: people think that they have a lot more of it than they actually do" said Treffle, continuing his love of metaphors in the press room. "The young players that we have been playing are still that: young players. The only way these guys are going to be able to learn from their mistakes is if they are allowed to make them. We want to win here, and the expectations are such that we need to start doing it sooner rather than later. But I am not going to say that it's all going to fall into place right away. We will take the time we need to adjust and get better, and give everything we have out on the pitch. That's all we can really do at the end of the day."

Noteworthy individual performances were hard to come by for Whitehorse. Johan Nix lead the team in scoring with 10 goals, leading him to another easy victory as FC Whitehorse's player of the year. Forwards Josemisco and Rókus Bencsik did not make any notable positive gains, each only netting 8 goals. Marthaldo, Serginho, and Virgilio Rentería had 4 goals each. Leonard Nunez, though solid in defence, continued a worrying trend of being undisciplined, leading the club with 7 yellow cards. In goal, Zavala and Rubinho both ended the season with 2 clean sheets a piece, despite the fact that Zavala started 30 matches and Rubinho only had 8.

During Johan Nix's end of season media address, the 32 year old midfielder and team captain put his focus on the fans, showing his appreciation for the support that the club got this season. "Far too much is made about the attendance figures in terms of the fans who didn't attend matches this year" said Nix. "What we really need to put more focus on is that 20,000 fans or more showed up to our stadium every week, wore those green jerseys, and cheered us on. I want to thank each and every one of them that came out this year. It really does mean a lot. The season can be long and difficult, but stuff like that makes it feel all the more rewarding."

With 18 players still on the roster heading into next season, this offseason is expected to be much less busy for the Freezers. Additionally, the club had no major personnel moves to announce, and the coaching staff will remain largely unchanged for the foreseeable future.

Treffle Convincingly Wins Debut Match

In the first match with Raley Treffle as FC Whitehorse manager, the Freezers had a phenomenal match defeating The Real Workers FC 6-0 on the road. Goals from Marthaldo (8'), Leonard Nunez (9'), and Kaidan Lemoine (11') gave Whitehorse a 3-0 lead in 11 minutes, which they would hold until half-time. Virgilio Rentería, Virgilio Rivas, and Josemisco all added goals in the second half, while Rubinho made 6 saves to get the clean sheet. 

Speaking at the post-match press conference, the new manager was very pleased with his team's effort in the match. "I can't exactly take the credit for myself, having only been here a week" joked Treffle, getting a laugh from the press room. "But, it does feel good for us to get that first win. I know that these guys have been working hard all season, and a big win like this can really serve to make it all feel worth it. Not every game is going to go this well and feel this good, but the key is to make it so that we're more consistently in the win column. That's the challenge that will get us to the end of the year."

Captain Johan Nix echoed his manager's optimism. "Today really felt like us playing as strongly as I know we are capable of playing" said Nix. "It has been a difficult year because it does feel like we are spinning our wheels a bit this year. But I am really happy about this one. Great win for all of us."

The Freezers will hope to keep the success going as they host FCW Lions at Service Stadium.

Raley Treffle Named New Manager at Whitehorse

FC Whitehorse Freezers held a press conference today to announce the hiring of their new full-time manager, long time CSL manager Raley Treffle. The 52 year-old Treffle, who grew up in Yorkton, SK, spent the last 6 seasons, S95 to S100, as the manager of FC Saskatchewan before resigning that position at the end of last year. Previously, he was the manager of Three Lions FC, leading the team from S84 until S93 when that club closed operations and left the CSL. As a player, Treffle spent 11 seasons in the CSL playing in the midfield.

Club President Jaheem Byam addressed those gathered at the press event, praising his new manager. "Mr. Treffle has a long history of success at this level" said Byam. "Our long term goal is to get up towards the top of the table and we wanted to add someone who can be the steady hand to guide us there. Mr. Treffle is absolutely the man for the job." When asked about interim manager Corwyn Westlake, Byam spoke highly of the outgoing head man. "I spoke with Mr. Westlake about the decision yesterday. I have to give him full credit. Mr. Westlake stepped into an impossible situation and did incredibly well to get us back on track. He did interview for the full time job, and while we ultimately decided to go in a different direction, I want to wish him all of the best in the future." Westlake leaves FC Whitehorse with a 5-4-15 record as the interim manager, having previously served as the club's assistant manager.

During his time at the podium, new manager Raley Treffle talked about his excitement to be in Whitehorse with a new challenge to face. "Every opportunity like this is a chance at a new adventure" said Treffle. "The early years for a new club in this league are always tough. It's highly competitive and everyone is pushing to try to build and work towards a title. I'm no different. I have been doing this for a while now, but that fire hasn't left me. I still don't have that championship trophy either, and I want to change that here in Whitehorse. That's the Whitehorse spirit right there: thrive through adversity. That's what it's all about."

Treffle did not wait long to announce his coaching staff that will be joining him with the Freezers. Khaled Martin, Treffle's assistant manager at FC Saskatchewan for the last 4 years, will be joining FC Whitehorse in the same role. The 40 year-old Martin was a former striker for 10 seasons in the CSL playing for a number of clubs. Martin spent two seasons at Three Lions under manager Treffle towards the end of his career, scoring 46 goals in 58 matches there. After being introduced as the new assistant manager, he spoke briefly at the press conference as well. "I am very happy to be in this position" said Martin. "Working with Raley has been fantastic. We have formed a solid partnership over the years, and I am ready to get to work with the players after we're done here."

Kemal Perrin was named the team's new first team coach, finding a new permanent role with the Freezers. Still only 32 years old, Perrin was a midfielder for FC Whitehorse last season and took on a coaching role with the club at the start of this year. After Corwyn Westlake took over as the interim manager, Perrin became the interim assistant manager, and held that position until his new assignment today. As expected, goalkeeping coach Pardo will remain with the club in that same role.

Manager Treffle's first league match comes later this week as the Freezers are on the road to face Real Workers FC.

FC Whitehorse Freezers: Season 101 Midseason Review

The season for the Freezers thus far has been a tale of two halves. Through 9 matches, the team had yet to get a point in the league table, leaving them in dead last. Manager Oros Bala had been replaced after 6 matches, leading to Corwyn Westlake taking over the position on an interim basis. Since those first 9 matches, Whitehorse are 4-2-4 including a 1-0 road victory against 4th place CSL side Presbyterian Express. In the Canada Cup, Whitehorse was more respectable than last year with a record of 1-2-5, and only finishing -13 on goal difference. 

Club President Jaheem Byam summed up the season rather succinctly in a recent interview. "It has been a chaotic year" said Byam. "The expectations coming into the season were pretty high, and we simply have not met them. And fan support is understandably waning, so we need to ensure that the on the field product is worthy of this city and the team's supporters."

The Freezers have struggled on both sides of the ball, as they currently have 21 goals for (T16th best in the CSL) against 51 goals allowed (17th). While they are generating a decent number of opportunities with 224 shots (T12th), the 108 shots on target (14th) show that those opportunities are wasted far too often. The team only has 12 yellow cards (5th) and a single red (T5th), so discipline is not an issue.

Interim Manager Corwyn Westlake tried to remain positive about his team's progress. "Things have been slowly moving in the right direction" said Westlake after a 1-1 home draw against FC Saskatchewan. "It has been a difficult season, but I do feel like we're finally getting things back on track. The results have been coming in recently, and it's a sign that we are improving at a decent rate. Hopefully with hard work, that will carry forward."

On an individual level, Josemisco is leading the team's scoring with 5 goals, while Serginho and Johan Nix each have 3. Rókus Bencsik, Virgilio Rentería, and Kaidan Lemoine each have a pair of goals. Both goalkeepers have had their struggles, though Rubinho has shown top level keeping on a more consistent basis than Zavala. Leonard Nunez leads the team in bookings with 4 yellow cards and 1 red. Tauro Serrato, despite only playing in 6 matches, has 3 yellow cards.

For team captain Johan Nix, this disappointing run of play has left him struggling to know what to do. "I am at a loss some days" said Nix. "You see it in training, the skills and the form is there pretty consistently. But then, match time comes, and we lose focus too often. It's tough to find the way forward, but we just need to keep trying and seeing what works."

The Freezers will host bottom feeder Bayfield FC in their next match, with hopes of getting some points to start the second half of their season.