Crown Town Soccer

This transcript was generated via AI.

Good morning. It's Tuesday. May 16 2023. Breaking news in the women's soccer world it's extremely exciting to announce that the USL is starting up a brand-new, fully professional, first division women's league called the USL Super League and Charlotte will be one of its first markets - with a team starting to starting play in 2024 next season. This Charlotte USL Super League team will be. Partially run by Jim McPhiliamy you may know him as also being the managing partner of the Charlotte Independence which runs a USL League 1 men's professional club, and an amateur women's side in the USL W-League and youth clubs, up and down the age spectrum.

The Super League team will play at Memorial Stadium in the Elizabeth neighborhood, ground sharing with Charlotte Independence. We don't yet know what the schedule for the Super League will look like, this is literally like they announced this within the last hour. They don't have a TV partner yet or all that stuff. We don't have branding for any of the teams but this is just really exciting news. I think we, we would all want

better, closer to equal, and equitable access to the professional game for women. According to the USL Super League press release, there is 101 fully professional men's club in the United States while currently there are only 12 professional clubs for women, those 12 clubs being the NWSL. The USL is looking to get the Super League sanctioned as a first division

women's league. It would essentially occupy the same space in the non-existent pyramid, the ownership groups of the currently announced Super League teams are for the most part all clubs with existing ties to USL on the men's side. So you've got places like Phoenix, Arizona, they'll be led by the Phoenix Rising ownership group.

You've got folks in Tucson from FC Tucson. Then, in the future, they've got a couple of markets they've announced: Tim Tebow, it's going to own a club in Jacksonville, Florida area Forward Madison, the USL club, is looking to start a Super League team in Madison, Wisconsin; and then the Oakland Roots and Soul are going to be tarting a club in Oakland.

Chattanooga, DC, Tampa, Spokane, Washington, Lexington, Kentucky, Dallas-Fort Worth area - all extremely exciting. The USL is always or, I will say, for the past five to eight years, really kind of positions itself as an alternative to the classic closed system of MLS and now doing the same for NWSL where they want to offer the best opportunity

that they can at the highest level professional play. That is reasonable, and make sense. According to US Soccer guidelines, and I think, for any, any fan of the game getting access to another fully professional league is nothing short of super exciting and I hope Super League really really takes off

and offers just more access for all of the women in the country who wants to achieve their dream of playing professional soccer and now have more space to do. So we've seen leagues, entire leagues and plenty of clubs, in the past 20 years of North American soccer just fall by the wayside but the USL and their umbrella of leagues has kind of stood the test of time.

They've been operating for over two decades. At this point, they are currently operating three men's professional leagues and doing so, with some relative stability, you know, you've got teams that have self relegated for lack of abetter term, just to make the finances. Make more sense, but But you know, you've got three fully professional men's teams that are operating and and and doing well in their alternative markets to

what MLS covers. And now they're bringing that same level of opportunity and access to the the women's game with the Super League. I'm extremely excited tosee what aCharlotte Club will look. Like, I really hope that the city and the soccer Community decides to embrace the The Super League team. I'm going to be keeping avery close eye on it. I think there's potential for a lot of attractive options

and being being given a alternative to our existing. Options of either high-priced. MLS play at Bank of America, Stadium with 30,000-plus people or, you know, something more affordable with more Family Focus and maybe more like direct Community, involvement

with Super League. I hope that's how the this new ownership group. Decides to position the club now, according to the Uso, press release, Jim mcfeely, Amy is going to be kind of the managing owner of the Super League ownership group. But the way it's formed makes it seem like this is not, this isn't just Charlotte Independence in a different League,

this is going to be a new ownership group and hopefully with its different branding. Charlotte Independence already operates a women's team in the amateur League. League w-league. The fact that they specifically call out Jim mcfeely Amy as leading the formation of the club's ownership group but they don't named Charlotte Independence. Make it seems that Jim is going to be involved in the ownership of all three clubs. But this Super League team is going to be owned by a different team

and won't have a like obvious relationship with Independence, which Ithink is Smart, Independence has been around for awhile now, but I think Is worn out any shine that they once had and there are plenty of folks. Myself included who don't are interested in getting involved with Charlotte Independence, due to some people in their ownership group being loud and mouthy with complete spouting off completely like racist and homophobic propaganda.

So, I'm cautiously optimistic about this new Super League team. They will play. Leia Memorial Stadium and theElizabeth neighborhood. So they will be at least sharing the ground with Independence and so they'll have to coordinate all that. But like Isaid, we don't know what the schedule is going tobe like for for Super League, if they will run at the same time, if they'regoing totry to do something different, hopefully we'll find out find outmore. The

this is this is worth getting invested in with your time and energy. I think, obviously everybody gets to pick but if if you're cautious S or worried because youdon't know if Super League is going to last, I think Super Bowl isgoing to bearound for along time. USL has proven that they take advantage of opportunities when they see them, but they do. So in, as intelligent asManor has possibly can, there's obvious

You can never predict the future completely, right? How many things have fallen by the wayside overthe past three years because people may bets and 2018, 2019 and 2020 head us all with afrying pan over the head. Completely changed the world for a very long time. Can't predict things like that but the USL has been around for a long time. Dave, grown, incredibly smartly. They've made seemingly All theRight Moves and now it's up to the ownership groups, to make the correct moves.

And I really hope that this new, this new Super League. Ugh, Women's Club in Charlotte continues to make good moves if they've got some good branding, if they can get some, some names in ownership group that would be hugely hugely helpful and then only time will tell to see, like, what's the money like, in Super League? Are they able to compete for?

Are they able to get some nwsl players that maybe aren't starting every week? Are they able to get Bench players and convince them to come play you know first team minutes and the star like comes start in the Super League. Only time will tell like where the superleague establishes itself in the pecking order of demanding talent. But let's face it. Like we all want more opportunities and for many of us at the endof the day, it's notabout watching the absolute best soccer that we can as about whatever we feel a connection to with the

Club in like our community and our city. And Ithink some of us are still waiting to see if some of that plays out and actually happens with other professional clubs in thecity. And I think, yeah, I think with gems experience in in the area. Hopefully, he's learned lessons

over the past decade of owning Independence and can learn from some of them. 6:30 made and get off a really good foot with this new, professional women's team. So extremely excited to keep an eye on on this news and anything that continues to happen in the Super League. I will be keeping a very close eye on it and I hope you do too. If you're interested, we'd love to hear from you, feel free to email me Crown Town, soccer at gmail.com. Let me know what you think about theSuper League news and would you

buy game ticket? Would you buy a season ticket? Would you take your whole family, your kids Would you how excited? Idon't know how excited are you about this Super League news scale of 1 to 10. If you're a current shredded FC season ticket holder is this an alternative or is this anaddition or is this not something? You'd be interested in atall? Would love to know. Email me. Hope youhave a great day. Talk to you soon.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crowntownsoccer.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.crowntownsoccer.com

Lattz out? System vs roster; where can fans be hopeful?

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After a year of shopping for the best deal, MLS signed a new broadcast deal with Apple in 2022, promising zero blackouts and consistent coverage. Today, MLS and Apple announced the branding and pricing for the 2023 season, but a lot more has been reported and I’m seeing a lot of bad info out there, so here’s my best breakdown.

Top 5 Things to Know

* Every MLS and League Cup match will be broadcast on the new MLS Season Pass only available on Apple TV

* MLS Season Pass is completely separate from Apple’s TV+ subscription, home of their original content like Ted Lasso and The Wheel of Time, though if you are an Apple TV+ subscriber you get a discount on MLS Season Pass

* MLS Season Pass will cost $99/year or $14.99/month starting February 1; for Apple TV+ subscribers it’s $79/year or $12.00/month

* Every MLS club season ticket holder account gets access to MLS Season Pass as part of their season ticket package - one per ticket account, not per seat

* MLS Season Pass will be inside the Apple TV app on all of your smart TVs, streaming devices, game consoles, iOS devices, or in your browser at https://tv.apple.com

The paywall

First off, there are no more local TV broadcasts. So if you’re local to Charlotte and enjoyed having free access to matches via WSOC or the team’s website, that’s over now - you’ll have to at least download the Apple TV app on a device to watch Major League Soccer games. Why do I say “at least”?

Because, according to today’s press release, some matches will be available in front of the Season Pass paywall on Apple TV. There’s no telling yet if there will be a “Free Match of the Week”, etc. but at least some MLS games will be available for free.

The schedule

The 2023 season kicks off on February 25. All matches on opening weekend will be available to watch on MLS Season Pass for free.

Now that there’s no need for scheduling around a linear TV broadcast partner, games will have a much more consistent kickoff time. Almost all games will be on Saturday or Wednesday nights at 7:30pm local, all with both English and Spanish broadcast crews. Games with a Canadian club will also be broadcast in French. Some matches might fall outside this regular rhythm, but it seems we can start making that routine the norm.

This broadcast deal also includes the new Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX teams.

Opinion | The Negatives

Good or bad, this broadcast deal for the next ten years will change Major League Soccer. I’m rooting for it because the health and growth of the league depends on it. There are few negatives I do want to mention that I’m keeping my eye out on since we’re only three months and change away from kickoff.

No more local broadcast teams: Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam did a great job for the club in 2022, but they’re officially out of a job unless hired by MLS + Apple to do league-wide coverage that may include Charlotte games. We don’t know who the talent is for 2023 yet at all, and that makes a big impact on the viewing experience.

Production of matches: The product on the field in MLS is often maligned by people looking to be debby-downers, but the best way to make sure the league is taken seriously is to make it look as good as possible. That means broadcasting in at least 1080p (if not 4k), good audio mixing between the announcing crew and in-stadium noise, a well designed score bug, etc. If the broadcast feels cheap, the product as a whole will feel cheap too.

Bad branding/confusion: Because people don’t know the different between Apple TV (the platform) and Apple TV+ (the streaming subscription service on the platform), people are confused as hell. Do I need to have an Apple TV+ subscription to be able to watch games? Wait, I have to pay extra to watch MLS even though I already pay for Apple TV+?

Some fans will say ESPN+ using local broadcasts was better. I’ll gently disagree, but only time can tell. ESPN+ has become a daily driver for many sports fans and MLS Season Pass is Apple’s first foray into sports broadcasting with a league. The best thing both can do is communicate clearly what is going on so fans aren’t still scrambling come Matchday 1.

Why all of this matters

Major League Soccer has always been an overlooked broadcast asset. There were years when the league/teams paid broadcasters to get games on the air. We’re well past that era, but the league definitely needed to grow its revenue from broadcast rights as we move toward the 2028 World Cup hosted here in North America. Soccer has never been more popular in the US with most eyeballs pointed toward the English Premier League on NBC/Peacock.

At the same time, MLS’ stock is growing on a global scale too. No longer only seen as a retirement league for over-the-hill European stars, MLS seems to be just on the outside of what most consider to be the Top 5 global soccer leagues - and it wants to continue to grow.

I routinely hear English soccer fans spout their ire at the fact that its easier for Americans to watch British soccer on TV than it is for them. As the league continues to grow and earn an audience, the deal with Apple makes sure that the inverse can not be said. There are no global blackouts - a Minnesota fan in Belgium can watch a game just as easily as a displaced Bostonian living in southern California.

Yes - it now costs money to watch your local team that you weren’t paying for before (especially for those of us fortunately enough to live close enough for a free broadcast). I don’t mind that cost, as long as the funds are further invested in the right places and not used to line the pockets of billionaire owners.

I guess we’ll find out.

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Tomorrow the MLS off-season begins in earnest when the newest franchise joining MLS, St. Louis City FC, will draft five players from around the league in the latest edition of the Expansion Draft. As such, Charlotte FC has released its list of protected players that St. Louis cannot draft; each MLS squad participating in the draft could protect 12 players + any Homegrown or Generation Adidas players.

Here’s the list of player’s Charlotte protected:

* Brandt Bronico

* Nathan Byrne

* McKinze Gaines

* Kamil Jozwiak

* Kristijan Kahlina

* Adilson Malanda

* Vinicius Mello

* Daniel Rios

* Nuno Santos

* Karol Swiderski

* Kerwin Vargas

* Anton Walkes

* Ben Bender (Generation adidas)

* Chris Hegardt (Homegrown)

* Derrick Jones (Homegrown)

* Jaylin Lindsey (Homegrown)

* Brian Romero (Homegrown)

This means that the following players have been left unprotected and one of them could potentially be drafted tomorrow and if I think they could be taken:

* Jordy Alcivar - 50% chance

* Didn’t perform at a high level, considered a Young Designated Player which complicates a roster build or requires a high amount of allocation money to buy down

* Adam Armour - 5% chance

* Coming off of long-term injury, no telling what level he’ll perform at in 2023

* Guzman Corujo - 33% chance

* Also coming off a major injury that required surgery, but was performing at a high level and has proven he can peform and help lead an expansion side

* Christian Fuchs - 0% chance

* Big contract that ends in 2023, performances weren’t consistently impressive, not sure if he’s better suited at center back or left back any more

* George Marks - 25% chance

* Young(er) goalkeeper that could continue to develop while proving he could serve as a main backup, but doesn’t seem like type of player you draft

* Quinn McNeill - 0% chance

* Not good enough quality, technically out of contract as far as we know

* Joseph Mora - 66% chance

* A good, not great, left back with a long tenure in the league and has proven to perform well on an expansion team’s backline; contract isn’t a stopper if they need the depth at position

* Yordy Reyna - 33% chance

* Has his obvious talents, but not a consistent performer for a very high contract

* Andre Shinyashiki - 75% chance

* Just re-signed a new contract at end of 2022 season, but wasn’t logging consistent minutes; versitile across the entire frontline and can score goals when given the opportunity

* Paolo Sisniega - 66% chance

* If one of Charlotte’s backup keepers gets drafted, it would be Sisniega; more proven talent, performed well when called on, not too expensive

* Jan Sobocinski - 10% chance

* Limited minutes so not sure his talent level, takes an international spot, isn’t the cheapest contract

There’s a short list of players I would be upset if they were taken by St. Louis: Alcivar, Corujo, Shinayashiki, Mora. There’s some that I wouldn’t be mad at all if they took because it would get their contracts off our books: Fuchs and Reyna. The rest, I could take or leave.

The Expansion Draft is live tomorrow at 7:00 pm EST on MLS’ socials and YouTube pages. If a Charlotte player is picked, I’ll react to it first thing Saturday morning.

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The 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup kicks off in Qatar in just over two weeks. The US Men’s National Team is back after failing to qualify for the 2018 edition, Canada and Wales are making their first appearances of the 21st century, and former champions Italy didn’t qualify. There will be plenty of entertaining, high stakes soccer for a month with Charlotte FC hosting at least one watch party for USMNT games.

So why am I so conflicted about spending my time, energy, and money on this tournament, one of the few moments that seems to put all eyes on the game I love that is still fighting for its due here in the states?

I’m not here to convince you of anything, but I have gathered some links to well-reported articles or podcasts about this World Cup that has caused me to pause before going all out in support of it. I hope you find these helpful and informative.

The worst part is, regardless of the interviews I listen to or the exposes I read, the truth is I will probably still end up watching minimum five World Cup matches before Christmas. Because this is my favorite sport, and this is (supposedly) the pinnacle of soccer - the dream that every young player is hoping for. As I said, the World Cup is the only time the general sports fan’s attention is pulled to soccer at all and it can be useful tool to help bring in new fans to our local clubs.

But, as I think the stories below outline, the cost this go around were, in my opinion, too high a price to pay.

Articles:

* Amnesty International - “Qatar World Cup of Shame”

* The Guardian - “Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since World Cup awarded”

* Human Rights Watch - “FIFA: Pay for Harm to Qatar’s Migrant Workers”

* The Nation - “The tragic absurdity of Qatar’s World Cup sportswashing”

* The Athletic - “What was promised and what is actually being delivered”

Videos:

* BBC News - “World Cup hosts Qatar accused of under-reporting deaths in Gulf’s killer heat” (YouTube)

* Sky Sports - “Members of Qatar's LGBTQ+ community detained & abused” (YouTube)

* The Russell Howard Hour - “The World Cup In Qatar Is The Most Corrupt Sporting Event Ever” (YouTube)

Podcasts:

* Crooked Media + Men in Blazers: World Cup series

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THE BIG STORY: Christian Lattanzio becomes second head coach in Charlotte FC’s history

As many were expecting, Charlotte FC announced they signed an extension with Christian Lattanzio through the 2024 season with a club option for 2025. Lattanzio took over as interim head coach on May 31 after Miguel Ángel Ramírez was fired and went 8-10-2 in his 20 matches leading the club.

The word used over and over during the announcement was "consistency”. After a tumultuous first six months that saw CLTFC fire a head coach and go through several executive changes, club leadership wanted stability.

What I think: Excellent news. While 2022 obviously had its ups and downs on the field, I’m not nearly as down on the actual soccer product at the end of the season as I was in May, August, or September. The best soccer being played, in my opinion, was in the final stretch of games in October as the team pushed for playoffs and Lattanzio showed an appropriate level of flexibility to get the best out of his team - mainly moving forward Karol Swiderski into a more creative roll deeper in the midfield.

That said, this is also the head coach that consistently started a midfield three of Brandt Bronico, Ben Bender, and Quinn McNeill during the dog days of summer that was so rough to watch. Lattanzio has a background in youth development and I have zero problems with #playthekids. However, McNeill ended the season on loan to USL League 1 side Charlotte Independence and the club hasn’t decided on his contract yet as they’re waiting for the Independence’s playoff run to end (or not!). That the club had to start a 24 year old rookie ten times and aren’t even sure if has the quality to earn a cheap roster spot next season says a lot.

Ownership and execs have committed to Lattanzio and the rest of the major sporting staff, which is excellent. Now we need to see movement in the off-season on the player front, both in the intra-league marketplace and in the post-World Cup winter transfer window in January. But now, Lattanzio knows he’s here to stay and has the full off-season to help build a squad he believes can make the playoffs next year.

HEADLINE: MLS considering adding more playoff matches in 2023

According to a anonymous source and some private league documents, The Athletic is reporting [paywall, but worth it] that Major League Soccer is considering changing its post-season playoff format in 2023 - mainly, increasing its number of matches from 13 to a potential high of 30.

The goal is to increase its overall inventory with its new media rights holder, Apple. Signed this year, Apple is paying the league $2.5 billion over 10 years beginning 2023, making the streaming platform the exclusive home for all MLS matches (yes, including even OTA local broadcasts. Will dedicate a newsletter to the MLS-Apple deal soon). Obviously, that’s a huge jump, and the league is considering its options in how to increase the number of matches with the main format getting consideration being a group stage before progressing to a knockout stage.

It’s a format used in the World Cup every four years and almost monthly by major esports tournaments around the world. It’s a great way to create a minimum of games played for teams, which is perfect for tournaments like the World Cup where teams have traveled to a central location and spent years earning the chance to be there.

My take: I’m seeing a lot of dunking on this idea in the immediate aftermath, which I think is a fair, knee-jerk reaction. MLS is unique in the soccer world for having a playoff to determine a league champion every year, with most top divisions around the world simply awarding its trophy to the team with the most points (equivalent to the MLS Supporter’s Shield). Next year, assuming nothing changes, 14 out of 29 teams would make the playoffs. I’m not sure adding even more matches that could be considered “pointless” is a worthwhile affair from a sporting perspective.

That said - as a fan with a season ticket, I can’t say I’m mad at the prospect of seeing my team play more games - especially if Charlotte makes it to the playoffs in their second season.

HEADLINE: Charlotte FC commits to reinvesting in youth programs that develop homegrown players

Charlotte FC announced a new initiative called the “Carolina Homegrown Commitment” that promises to provide financial donations to youth development programs if Charlotte signs one of their players to a full-time contract. The first donation made under this initiative was $10,000 to Charlotte Soccer Academy for their development of Brian Romero in their youth squads before Romero signed for CLTFC’s academy and eventual MLS contract.

What I think: The fact that this isn’t a requirement for MLS clubs to begin with a travesty, and I’m proud that Charlotte saw this gap and is voluntarily stepping in to provide what most would consider the bare minimum. Around the world, youth clubs are compensated in two ways when one of their former player’s makes it big: training compensation when the player signs their first pro contract and solidarity payments for transfer fees. Only recently has MLS begun abiding by these FIFA regulations, but I haven’t been able to confirm that one or both of these payments are made to American youth clubs.

Regardless, CLTFC committing to financial compensation when a North or South Carolinian youth program develops a player of enough quality to make it to the club’s MLS squad is a brilliant step in the right direction as the club continues to build out a talent pathway to professional soccer in the Carolinas. You can read more about these kinds of payments here.

News Round-Up:

* The NWSL Championship is this Saturday on CBS - Portland vs Kansas City

* MLS Conference Finals on Sunday - LAFC vs Austin | Philly vs NYCFC

* MLS-based players gather for USMNT pre-World Cup training camp [MLSsoccer.com]

* CLTFC players named to Polish World Cup preliminary roster [Charlotte FC]

* St. Louis “reworks” corporate stadium sponsorship with Centene, renames stadium CityPARK [Official]

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Hello dear reader. I’m back. We can get into the *why* later in the year during a lull in the MLS post-season, but for now lets just jump in to a quick introduction and the actual Charlotte FC content you’re looking for.

My name is Zach Hall - you can find me on active on Twitter and I used to run a blog covering Charlotte soccer called Crown Town Soccer. It was marginally popular before I abruptly shut it down in a period of big transitions in my life. I’m older now, and looking to pick up my hobby beyond the occasional tweet.

There won’t be a ton of real analysis here - I highly suggest creators like TopBin90, CLTFCTV and Mint City Analytics for that. What you’ll find here is a news round-up and opinions from me. But if you aren’t active on social media and just want the best of the best news with links to their original reporting, you can get that here. Get subscribed for semi-regular updates during off-season, usually published on Thursdays. Depending on how the off-season goes, I’ll establish a set schedule for the proper 2023 MLS season.

First post-season transfer rumor: Enzo Copetti

From Argentinian journalists César Luis Merlo and Leandro Adonio, Charlotte FC has submitted a formal inquiry for Racing Club forward Enzo Copetti. (hat tip to TopBin90 for putting this on my Twitter feed)

Racing has apparently told the club that they aren’t interested in engaging in any transfer negotiations until after the season is over. The good news for Charlotte fans is that the season ends next week, with Racing two points up on Boca Juniors, but one less game played.

Racing fan account @elprimer_grande claims that Racing has told numerous clubs, including Charlotte, that Copetti would only leave if a club meets his release clause: $10 million.

I am no scout and will never profess to be, and I don’t watch the Argentinian league so I have no idea if Copetti is worth $10m. I can say that at that fee, Copetti would the third Designated Player for Charlotte - joining fellow attackers Karol Świderski and Kamil Jóźwiak.

Świderski definitely became a fan and staff favorite in the Queen City this season; while he didn’t light up the league’s golden boot race as you would hope a DP forward to do, he was the team’s only constant attacking threat. He eventually transitioned into more an attacking midfielder (usually refereed to as the “#10” in soccer shorthand) in the last month of the season, becoming more a facilitator for other player’s attacking runs, giving me the impression that the team would be looking to bring in another high dollar out-and-out goal scorer to accompany him.

Jóźwiak had a rougher go of it in 2022 - he plays mainly out on the wing (he’s played both sides of the field, but consistently on the left since July) but struggled to appear in the box-score. His first assist didn’t come until the 1-2 loss at home versus Orlando on July 22, he then racked up two more in the 4-0 drubbing of Philly on October 1. And that’s it - 0g, 3a in 19 appearances. Not ideal. I don’t think Jóźwiak’s contract could potentially be brought down below the MLS Designated Player threshold (he’s guaranteed compensation for 2022 was just over $1m, well over the max salary charge of $612,000 for a DP), and if I had to make a board of players I’d be willing to see sold in the winter, Jóźwiak would be on it. (Would be interested in such a board? Let me know in the comments.)

First roster moves: negotiations w/ Fuchs and Afful

The club officially made their post-season roster decisions public on Monday with the big news being centered around their high-cost defenders Christian Fuchs and Harrison Afful. They both apparently had club options for 2023 and the club has decided to not pick those options up. However, the club “remains in discussions regarding the futures of both players”, meaning they’re attempting to negotiate lower salaries for them both in 2023. If the player decides to not sign a new contract, they won’t return to Charlotte for next season.

Let’s start with the club captain (maybe? will get to that in a bit) Christian Fuchs. Fuchs came to Charlotte with a big pedigree - he won the English Premier League in 2016 with Leicester City making 30 starts for the champions that season. But he’s now 36 (will be 37 in April, just a month into the next season) and his customary left back position is not ideal for someone his age, especially on a team that relies on its wing backs to participate in all phases of play like Christian Lattanzio’s. He also is on a fairly large contract for his potential contributions in 2023: $375k.

A potential wrinkle in this conversation is his status as club captain. He was named captain before the beginning of the season and wore the band all season when he was available. But Fuchs earned two red cards in the season, including a lengthy suspension in the clubs key push for the playoffs in September and October. The team earned 7 out of 9 possible points during his three game suspension, including the memorable comeback when in Chicago and the 4-0 blowout win against Philly. In those three games (plus the season finale, where Fuchs was available, but did not start) Karol Świderski wore the captain’s armband.

In an interview at the beginning of the month, sporting director Zoran Krneta said that “[Świderski] is absolutely untouchable” when asked about transfer rumors surrounding the forward. He then tacked this little nugget on (emphasis mine):

"There are rumors going around, but that’s part of the soccer world. Karol is our captain, he’s doing great for us, we love him. I think he’s enjoying life in Charlotte and playing in MLS. Until this changes, he’ll be our player.”

So…awkward. It seems as if Fuchs had his captaincy removed before the season was even over (the interview was published on October 4, during Fuchs’ suspension). It’s possible that the club had already informed him of their desire to negotiate a new, lower contract for 2023 and I imagine part of that negotiation is his place on the squad depth chart and his position as captain. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

Harrison Afful has less drama surrounding his decision and its one I predicted - he’s on a similar contract as Fuchs and as a MLS veteran he brings a lot to the squad, both on the field and in the locker room. But summer signing Nathaniel Byrne was brought in to replace Afful as the starting right back and performed extremely well in his limited appearances this fall. Jaylin Lindsey will most likely play deputy to Byrne in 2023, so paying $300k+ to an aging backup isn’t a wise spend of limited resources.

I personally hope both Fuchs and Afful return to the club with a lessened role and salary, Fuchs especially. As the club’s first ever captain, he will always play a role in the club’s mythos and I hope it isn’t limited to one season.

Well hey, that was fun. Hope this was helpful. Subscribe so you can get the next edition in your email inbox as soon as I publish. ✌️

Zach

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I'm back. First new post goes live Thursday, October 20. Thanks for still being subscribed to the Crown Town Soccer podcast - I'll have more for you here soon.

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S02E12 - Jim Garges (Mecklenburg Parks & Rec)And You by Crown Town Soccer