Silverbacks Roster Starting To Take Shape - By Taylor Peyton

It started with the announcement that Joao Johanning Mora had re-signed, and now “Player Announcement Season” is in full swing. Since the first announcement, the Silverbacks have confirmed at least three more members of their 2017 squad.

The Second player to be announced was Liberian Midfielder Abraham Lansana, who had a great 2016 with the Silverbacks after spending three years with Harnosand FF in the Swedish Second Division. Lansana served the Silverbacks well in the midfield last year, and will most definitely do the same this year. Unfortunately, the Silverbacks decided to repay Lansana for his services by using a picture of him holding a Silverbacks scarf with his eyes seemingly closed with the caption “Dreaming about Opening Day yet? Looks like he is!” I see what you did there Social Media guy (or girl, I’m not 100% sure), let’s just hope he keeps his eyes open on the pitch during the season.

Goalkeeper Ameth Kante signed, and it seems he will be the Silverbacks number 1 this year after backing up Bryce Billington in 2016. There hasn’t been any indication as to where Bryce Billington will be playing yet, but after a stellar 2016 season, as well as an excellent performance at the NPSL Showcase it seems that it will be somewhere in the USL, NASL, or possibly Europe. The Silverbacks, however, are in good hands with Kante. The Senegalese keeper started for Silverbacks in one game last year against Myrtle Beach Mutiny. In An interview with Senegalese website Wiwsport.com, Kante said that several European have contacted his agent to sign him, but he decided it was in his best interest to stay in Atlanta for another season.

The most recent announcement is also a former Silverbacks player, but he did not play for the Silverbacks in 2016, or 2015 for that matter. Belizean forward Deon McCaulay, whose claim to fame is being the joint top goalscorer in 2014 World Cup Qualifying with 11 goals, played for the Silverbacks in 2014 and scored 3 goals for them, including the lone goal in the 3-1 loss to Chicago Fire in the Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup. Since leaving the Silverbacks, he returned to Belize and played for Verdes in the Premier League of Belize. McCaulay was the league’s top scorer for the 2015-16 Opening season with 10 goals and two hat-tricks. This announcement totally came out of the blue, and my initial reaction was jokingly asking “what year is it?”, but all jokes aside it’s an excellent signing that will boost the attack.

Four players don't make a full team, so there are bound to be more announcements made soon. Keep an eye on Planet Of The Backs for more analysis of player announcements, as well as an upcoming article regarding the Silverbacks Home and Away series against Savannah Clovers, as well as a breakdown of the Silverbacks possible US Open Cup opponents.

Joao Johanning Mora Returns To The Silverbacks - By Taylor Peyton

On February 23rd, the Silverbacks tweeted confirmation that explosive winger Joao Johanning Mora would be returning for this coming season. Joao, who started in all 8 games and scored 7 goals last season and was voted 2016 Player of the Year by Silverbacks fans.

Joao made a fantastic first impression to the fans that would later vote him as Player of the Year in the first game of the 2016 season against Georgia Revolution when he scored the second of three goals by the Silverbacks on the day. The good impressions continued throughout the season as he not only scored goals but consistently provided a creative spark and ran around opposing defenders like they were traffic cones. Joao was arguably at his best in two games against Carolina Discoveries and Carolina Railhawks NPSL when he scored a brace against the Discoveries, as well as a goal against the Railhawks. In the same game against the Railhawks, Joao also provided the assist on Avery Shepherd’s game-winning goal.

Image by Dave Williamson

After wrapping up the regular season with a Penalty that he both won and converted against Tobacco Road, another goal against the Revolution at home, and a goal against Myrtle Beach at Ashley Booth Stadium, Joao had scored a goal against every team in the South Atlantic Conference. If that wasn’t enough, he also scored a goal in that 4-0 thrashing of the Railhawks Reserves in Lawrenceville.

Simply put, Joao Johanning Mora is one of those players that has that “wow” factor to him because he’s always doing something that makes fans get out of their seats. It was only fitting that he be the first player to be officially announced for 2017. Player announcements starting to happen is another sign that the season is right around the corner. Keep an eye on Silverbacks social media for more announcements, as well as Planet Of The Backs for analysis of said announcements.

Image by Dave Williamson

Make Your Plans - The Schedule Is Here! - By Taylor Peyton

At 12 pm Eastern time, the Atlanta Silverbacks Tweeted a sharp looking photo containing the schedule. Now the speculation over and the planning can begin. All home games will be played on a Saturday apart from one Friday night game where the Silverbacks will be hosting FC Carolina Discoveries. Weekday away games include Knoxville Force on Thursday, June 8, and Birmingham Hammers on Thursday, June 22. Away games against Georgia Revolution, New Orleans Jesters, FC Carolina Discoveries, and Asheville City will be played on Saturdays.

The Season will start on May 6 at home against Birmingham, and also end at home on July 8 against Georgia Revolution. All Saturday home games will kick off at 5 pm, which may get very uncomfortable for fans and players alike, so my advice is to sit on the West side of the Park because you have a better chance of getting sufficient shading.

One way or another, all Silverbacks road games are possibly doable for fans. The Revolution are in the process of moving from Conyers to Henry County, but that’s still a very doable drive. New Orleans is a really, really long drive but many Silverbacks fans are chomping at the bit to make it to New Orleans, taking Amtrak could very well be an option for them. FC Carolina Discoveries play in Rock Hill, SC which is a relatively easy drive up I-85. Asheville is an even shorter drive than Rock Hill and depending on how you feel, you can take the scenic route through North Georgia. Yes, Birmingham away is on a Thursday night but it’s still a very easy drive, second only to Henry County regarding ease. So if you can, by all means, go. A Thursday night game in Knoxville, on the other hand, might prove to be difficult. But I personally will try to do it, and I’m sure I won’t be alone in my efforts. It’s only a 3.5-hour drive up 75, but it goes without saying that if you do wish to go, leave early because not only can 75 be a mess through midtown and Cobb County, but the split between 24 and 75 in Chattanooga can be very slow at times too.

Now that the Schedule is out preparations can begin for what is bound to be an exciting season. As of the time I’m writing this, ticket information has not come out. I would have liked to wait until it came out to publish this, but I have to go to my pesky day later, and I won’t be off until 11. However, a source has told me that season tickets will be somewhere near $70. The countdown to opening day is at 78 days. I have a few things planned to help tide Silverbacks fans over until the day comes, so stay tuned and #PoundYourChest because #WeAreAtlanta!

What's Next For Junior Burgos? - By Taylor Peyton

Junior Burgos played for the Silverbacks in 2014, and in the later parts of the 2015 season. During his time with the club, Burgos became a fan favorite with his goals, assists, and free kick taking skills which were second to none in the NASL, and possibly in all of North America.

Burgos’ time with the Silverbacks could easily be described as one large highlight reel. Whether it was a fantastic ball over the top to Jaime Chavez against Colorado Rapids, finishing off an incredible team goal against Real Salt Lake, or scoring a free kick against Ottawa, Edmonton, New York, San Antonio, or nearly any opponent the Silverbacks played in the NASL, it seemed like Junior was doing something big every week.

After the Silverbacks incredible run in the 2014 US Open Cup, Burgos found himself getting his first call up to El Salvador’s National Team. After assisting a goal in his first match against the Dominican Republic, Burgos was named to El Salvador’s 21 man squad for the Copa Centroamericana. He came on as a substitute in two group matches against Honduras and Belize. The Salvadorans went on to lose the third place match 1-0 against Panama in a game which Burgos was not used. Shortly after the tournament, he was called into the squad again and scored his first international goal against Nicaragua. Surprisingly, Junior Burgos was not called into the squad for World Cup Qualifiers. In the 4th round of qualifying in CONCACAF, El Salvador finished 4th in their group, thus not qualifying for the final round. To date, Junior has six appearances, and one goal for El Salvador.

Initially, Burgos was not part of the Silverbacks squad that was put together close to the last minute in 2015. He started the season with Jaguares de Cordoba, but he was not there for long due to the club not meeting the terms of his contract. He then signed a short term deal with Orange County Blues in April, hoping to secure a move in the Summer. That’s when the SIlverbacks came knocking.

After a very disappointing Spring season that saw them finish 11th, the Silverbacks needed to get their season back on track. Considering they only scored seven goals in 10 games while most clubs had scored somewhere around 15 goals, it was pretty obvious that the attack needed improvement. The Silverbacks brought in Kosuke Kimura, Pedro Mendes, Paulo Mendes, and of course Junior Burgos. The new acquisitions worked wonders for the Silverbacks. They were scoring more goals, and up until the very end of the Fall Season when they started to falter, the SIlverbacks were looking like they had a shot at the playoffs. Burgos was a big part of the Silverbacks stellar Fall Season. He was scoring amazing free kicks for fun like he did before, including the NASL Goal Of The Year against San Antonio, and he often played a part in goals that were scored by his teammates. He even scored what turned out to be the last goal of the NASL era for the SIlverbacks; a free kick just outside the box.

Shortly after it was announced the SIlverbacks would no longer be in the NASL, Burgos signed for Atlanta United and was loaned to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He started off strongly with Tampa, providing an assist in only his second game, then scoring a goal in the Rowdies last game of the 2016 NASL Spring Season. But then in the fall season, he would only go on to start in two games for the Rowdies, the first two to be precise. Apart from coming on as a late sub against Ottawa on July 31st, he would not play again for the rest of the season. That’s 16 consecutive matches in total that he did not play. Somehow, Junior Burgos went from being one of the biggest stars on a team that was making a playoff push one fall to not even featuring in a team that was going nowhere fast the next fall. It might be the way it goes in Soccer sometimes but still seems like a cruel twist of fate. To make matters worse, Burgos was waved by Atlanta United in on December 16th, 2016.

Now the question is, what is next for him? He hasn’t been able to catch a break for a club other than the Silverbacks. But for the time being, it doesn’t look like the Silverbacks can help Burgos keep his career on track. He is a very talented and special player who deserves to play often for a club that is capable of performing well, whether it be in MLS, USL, NASL, or even outside of the US and Canada. His lack of chances with Tampa hasn’t done him any favors, but we’re talking about a guy who Eric Wynalda once said might be the best free kick specialist he has ever seen, and people who have seen him do it wouldn’t argue with the former Silverbacks Technical Director

There is no reason Burgos shouldn’t be able to find a new club that will use his skills to their advantage like the Silverbacks did. It’s more a matter of when and where than it is a matter of if. Hopefully, it happens for him soon. Silverbacks fans always take pride in familiar names and faces doing well on the pitch (as long as it’s not against them of course), so It’s a pretty safe bet that Silverbacks fans wish him well and hope it happens for him as soon as possible. Maybe sometime soon he'll score one of his amazing free kicks against Atlanta United and show them what they missed out on.

Familiar Faces Returning to the Silverbacks? - By Taylor Peyton

The first Set of Tryout dates at Silverbacks Park has come and gone. They took place at 9 am on December 20th and 21st. As you would expect, not many people showed up. However, there were some familiar faces in attendance. One of them being photographer Dave Williamson who took a few pictures at the tryouts. Members of last year’s Silverbacks team that were present included Abdul Bangura, Abraham Lansana, Kemar Brown, Fabio Fernandes, and Avery Shepherd.

There still are tryout dates left, but given the number of players from last year’s team at the first dates, it leads fans to believe that the core of the 2017 Silverbacks won’t be too different from that of the 2016 Silverbacks. Last Year's captain Mitch Garcia has gone, but apart from that, there haven’t been any significant moves by Silverbacks players that have been announced by the club.

Given his history with the Silverbacks Reserves, as well as the first team in the NASL days, Abdul Bangura seems like a likely candidate to take over the captaincy in Garcia absence. It was reported that he was supposed to be the captain last year but ended up missing the entire season due to injury. Obviously, the decision is in the hands of Phoday, and/or the Coaching staff, and the roster is still taking shape, but Bangura as captain seems like a reasonable guess.

To say that the Silverbacks have gone through high turnover the last few years would be an understatement, but if the Silverbacks can retain a big part of last year’s team, it will make it easier to build on the success of last year’s team. The Silverbacks new opponents in the Southeast are bound to make the Silverbacks path to a Conference Championship more difficult, and the season is still very far away, but given the talented players that are most likely coming back, and Phoday’s sharp eye for talent,  there just might be reason to believe that the Silverbacks can compete in the new Southeast Conference.

Conference Realigment and Tryout Dates Announced - By Taylor Peyton

After dead silent months of September, October, and November; news about the Silverbacks have finally come out. Three big pieces of news were confirmed within a span of a week. Realignment of the NPSL Southeast Conference, dates for Tryouts, and confirmation that Season Tickets will soon be on sale. 

With the withdrawal of Myrtle Beach Mutiny, Tobacco Road FC, and almost certainly Carolina Railhawks Reserves from the NPSL, the South Atlantic Conference is no more. It was announced on Sunday, December 4th, that the Silverbacks would instead be playing in the newly-realigned Southeast Conference. It will be split up into two divisions. The Silverbacks will be playing in the East Division with Asheville City, Carolina Discoveries, Georgia Revolution, and Knoxville Force. The West Division will be composed of Birmingham Hammers, Chattanooga FC, Inter Nashville FC, Memphis City, and New Orleans Jesters. There will be a total of 13 games for the Silverbacks, which is three more than they played last year. There will be a home and away game against each of the teams in our division, and one game each against the teams in the West Division that could be home or away. The Southeast playoffs will be composed of the top 3 teams from each division. On the same day that the realignment was announced, the Silverbacks confirmed via Twitter that Season Tickets would be going on sale soon. 

On Wednesday, October 7th, the Silverbacks Announced three sets of tryout dates. The first set of dates taking place on December 20th and 21st, the second being on January 3rd and 4th, the third being February 1st and 2nd, with an “Invitation Only Tryout” taking place on May 1st. All tryouts will be held from 9 am to 12 pm at Silverbacks Park. Players trying out will have to pay a fee of $50 if they register online in advance, and Walk-In Registration will cost $60. A Free Silverbacks T-shirt is included in the registration fee.

It’s been a pretty boring offseason up until now, but this has been a very exciting week that might have made it all worth it. New opponents, a reignited rivalry with Chattanooga, new Cities to travel to for fans that enjoy going to away games, a longer schedule, and the possibility of a new group of exciting, locally based players are all worth getting excited about. Let’s hope the string of exciting news continues.

Two Silverback Opponents Fold - By Taylor Peyton

The layout of the NPSL South Atlantic Conference seems to have changed significantly after it was announced by league chairman Joe Barone that Myrtle Beach Mutiny, and Tobacco Road FC would no longer be competing in the NPSL. Now only four teams remain in the South Atlantic; The Railhawks reserve squad, FC Carolina Discoveries, Georgia Revolution, and the Silverbacks.

Asheville City has just been announced as the NPSL’s latest expansion team, and for all, we know there still could be some expansion announcements yet to come. It’s unclear whether Asheville and another expansion team will be added to fill the two spots with the remaining teams staying put, if there will be a bit of realignment within conferences, or if the South Atlantic Conference will just be made up of five teams. Something else to consider is that Nashville FC still needs to be replaced, but that’s a different story altogether.

2016 was Tobacco Road’s first season in the NPSL, and it would turn out to be their last. In 3 games against the Silverbacks, they were able to steal a point on a late penalty in Durham but lost at Silverbacks Park Twice. The first one being a 2-1 Silverbacks win during the regular season, and the second one being that memorable South Atlantic Championship game.

Myrtle Beach Mutiny fared a little bit better in two meetings against the Silverbacks, beating them 2-1 at Silverbacks Park, and sharing points in a 2-2 draw at Ashley Booth Stadium. The Mutiny will most likely be remembered for that chippy and tense game at Silverbacks Park where one of their players Aksel Juul taunted the Atlanta Ultras after scoring what ended up being the winning goal.

There’s still a long way to go in the offseason, but this seems to be the start of “silly season.” Many scenarios could play out. Could the Silverbacks be moved to the Southeast, reigniting their rivalry with Chattanooga FC? Or will the Silverbacks stay put and have the upstart Asheville City SC on their schedule in addition to the rest of their old foes from last season? Only time will tell, and there’s lots of time left for Speculation.