CJ Fodrey on his Falkirk loan so far, all change at Austin FC and his sporting family
CJ Fodrey on his Falkirk loan so far, all change at Austin FC and his sporting family.
CJ Fodrey says that his sole focus is on making an impact for Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership - even if he doesn’t know how long his stay in Scotland will last.
The Austin FC winger, 22, joined John McGlynn’s on a season-long loan back in late August but the deal does include a January break clause. And things are all change at the Texas-based MLS side. A new head coach, Jim Curtin, will take over following the conclusion of the regular American season this month while a new sporting director is also in place.
But all Fodrey is thinking about is trying to emulate his fellow American forward Jacob Murrell by using the Bairns as a launchpad for success in Scottish football. So far, the San Diego native has been restricted mainly to minutes off the bench.
CJ Fodrey’s future up in air after Austin FC changes
Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Hearts, he said: “As far as the loan, it’s out of my control. The things that I can control are coming in every day with the mentality of being a Falkirk player right now. And I want to do the best for this team. We are doing well, I’m enjoying it here. I’d like to become a starter and get a bigger role with the team.
“The MLS season is about to end, Austin is out of the playoffs now. We have a new coach coming in January so a lot of change is happening. I haven’t had any conversations yet but I am sure soon they’re going to be coming up. I will make the most of whatever happens. I don’t know all the details (about the loan deal), but I think there were talks over a loan with an option to buy.
“I think Austin was asking for quite a high number and the financial part of it wasn’t quite met. So I think they said scratch that and we’ll do a loan for now. Who knows? Football can change a lot quickly. I still have a contract with Austin with options so I don’t know how it’s going to turn out with them.”
It was a big decision to make the move from the MLS to the Scottish top flight but Fodrey says that he relished the idea of a new challenge, and that he was thrown in the at deep end when he started away to Celtic before facing Rangers only a few days later.
“I came here just to try and challenge myself with different experiences and opportunities,” he said. “I was thrown in at the deep end a little. That’s what I was trying to rush the move for. I played in Seattle a week before, left wingback in that game as my first time playing a lot of minutes. Then I wanted to make this move to Falkirk and I flew four days before the game.
“I was being told I am starting against Celtic at Celtic Park so I was pretty excited. But I was living in a hotel for the first month and the routine wasn’t quite there. Sleep that first week was horrible, I was going to bed every day at 4am. The eight hour time difference wasn’t a help. But three days after that we had a game against Rangers so it was kind of cool to get the two giants straight off the bat.
“Both were 2-1 losses so it wasn’t the greatest feeling but now that we’ve moved into our flat it’s been good. We’ve got a routine going, couple of guys we hang out with after training and games and do our recovery, cook our own meals. You can see the group gelling, people are getting into houses or flats and into routines. You’re seeing the results coming our way now a little bit, there’s maybe that extra focus we didn’t have in the first few games of the year.”
Much like his team-mate Murrell - who was just named the Premiership player of the month for October - Fodrey has also had a lot of adjusting to do off the pitch, and for him, that’s even harder as he doesn’t know if he is going to be here longer than a couple of months.
He explained: “I am on my own but a few guys live close to me. I also don’t drive here because I don’t know if I’ll be going back in January. Being a loan player, there’s that uncertainty and you don’t know so I didn’t want to get a car yet. Maybe if I know I’m staying until the summer, I’ll start driving.
“I kind of rely on the guys close to me to get to training or use the train. Finley Barbrook has been driving me everywhere - to training, to Glasgow almost every day. That’s where Jacob lives, we go to David Lloyd and do our recovery, workout, sauna, eat there and drive back. He’s been doing a lot of driving so I make sure I get him a coffee or his meal to make up for the petrol.”
“It’s been nice to have another American on the team. We are pretty similar, we both came from college, we have the same agent. I had left a year earlier than him in college. Coming from MLS teams and coming here, it’s been good to have someone to relate to. It’s also good to have other loan guys on the team that are same age, similar situations coming from other clubs.”
Meanwhile, the winger revealed that he comes from a sporting family. He said: “It was always really soccer for me. I can play a bit of basketball, I’m pretty good. I played a bit of American football. My grandpa played in the NFL for Buffalo Bills. He had two or three seasons there, he was a linebacker (although Wiki has him playing Guard which is an offensive position), he was a big guy.
“That was in the 60s. Chuck Muelhaupt on my mum’s side. My dad played baseball as a pitcher in college and no one ever thought about soccer. It’s a big achievement getting to the NFL, it’s hard to get into. My mom came for the Hearts game so it was good to get a result for that one.
“Hopefully if I stay past January my dad will try and come out but we will see. I am from San Diego so I grew up liking the Chargers. They’re in LA now and not very good right now. (only NFL team without a win this season). I’ve not seen much NFL this season, it’s not as easy with the time difference.
“I feel like I always liked sports. My brothers were decent athletes growing up, they did track, football, basketball. I always knew that I wanted to be a professional, I dedicated my life to it, I wanted to play soccer. I feel like I have decent genetics for it with my family so I was always hoping. I never played for a school or anything but when me and my buddies play tag football I’d be a wide receiver.”