Bernier comes through for Rose City

Rose City 4 - 3 Second City

The Flyers' new signing, Patrice Bernier came through for the club just in time in week three. The Boys in Red are now 3-0-0 all time versus Second City and lead scoring 11-6.  There was quite the scrum mid-week as Bernier became available in a bidding war originally triggered by the league arrival of Seattle's new DP Obafemi Martins. While the bidding for Martins was too rich the Flyers, Bernier seemed just right.

This week's hero.

"He's a great, strong player with a good group behind him," the Flyers' coach said after the game. "There was some concern that he'd take a while to find his place in the squad, but he just showed up, put on his kit, and got to work. We're very glad to have him."

For Bernier's part, he had this to say, "The bidding during the middle of the week isn't something I like to think about. I just want a club that's going to back me all the way so that I can get to work and that's who the Flyers are. I was worried that such a rainy climate would throw me off my game, but it doesn't seem to be an issue." The new player was all smiles after the game.

You really can't discount what Bernier has already done for the club. The defending champions started the season with two losses. Without Bernier's help, week three would have been a tie with Second City (released Jack McInerney scored one goal while on wavers).

At this point, the club is also getting a better feel for the whole roster. Several draftees who were expected to get regular club minutes actually aren't. Hector Jimenez of LA has been replaced on the roster for next week with Portland super-sub Rodney Wallace. The club would also like to announce at this time that, pending league approval they'll be releasing Rafael de Sousa of DC to pick up Kansas City's Aurelien Collin. Finally, with Bernier's arrival and DP Marco Di Vaio, the club is feeling especially Montreal influenced. Any reasonable offer for the services of Sanna Nyassi or any of the club's injured players (Alan Gordon, Martin Rivero, Marvin Chavez) will be considered.

Week 2 Lineup

Last week was a tough way to start off the season. Scoring only one goal is definitely a shadow of last season and it looks to get no better this week. The front office employed a strategy during the draft that, while expected to pay off in the long run means that several high profile players are unavailable in the immediate term. Martin Rivero, Alan Gordon, and DP Marvin Chavez are all unavailable due to injury. Frederic Piquionne, expected to do major damage for Portland before the end of the season is still sorting out visa issues, and Mauro Rosales and the Sounders have no action in MLS this week due to CCL commitments. This is where the rubber hits the road. Guys like McInerney, Lee, and Tierney are going to have to step it up and help Marco Di Vaio carry this team until the rest of the heavy lifters return to the lineup.

Starters
Marco Di Vaio (MTL)
Michael Harrington (POR)
Hector Jimenez (LA)
YP Lee (VAN)
Jack McInerney (PHI)
Zach McMath^ (PHI)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Mauro Rosales* (SEA)
Raphael De Sousa (DC)
Chris Tierney (NE)
Kwame Watson-Siriboe (RSL)

Subs
Frederic Piquionne (POR)
Alan Gordon (SJ)
Marvin Chavez (SJ)

Reserve
Martin Rivero (COL)

New Players Trickle In

After a mild draft day goof-up (last season started with an LF, remember) Rose City got off to a solid start along with the rest of the league yesterday. The Flyers picked up San Jose's seasoned Alan Gordon, the fiery upstart in Philly, Jack McInerney, and a potential bomb in Raphael de Sousa, DC United's new DP Striker from Brazil.

Jack McInerney

Gordon has been a standout in the no-one-left-behind race for strongest forward on last year's Supporter's Shield winning 'Quakes. Pair him with a recovering Marvin Chavez, and sometimes when the Earthquakes score once, Rose City will score twice.

McInerney was a breakout in what was an otherwise down year for Philadelphia last season. With Sebastian Le Toux back in the mix for the Union, the young striker may see fewer minutes, however, he should make up for it in stronger technical play and things he can pick up from the aging Frenchman.

Finally, de Sousa is a bit of an enigma to much of the league still, but he's worth a DP salary and coming out of Brazil. You can bet he won't be sitting out many games and will be using some fancy footwork to try and find the back of the net for DC.

For the moment, these are your new Flyers. Welcome to the team boys, there's plenty more on the way!