Talkin' Jacks

We’re BACK! This will likely be our final episode of 2017 barring any big news. Alex and Ben were joined by Chris Davis to chat about the 2017 Independence season and look ahead to 2018. We went over our favorite games, favorite goals and what the off-season will bring for the Jacks on and off the field.

We talked about the renovations to the SportsPlex, the potential future for Memorial Stadium and the potential of NCFC joining USL.

Next, we looked ahead to 2018 and what the roster might look like and potential areas of improvement for the club.

Finally, we talked a bit about our favorite pizza joints in Charlotte! Give us your recommendations that we have to try in the off-season!

Thank you to Zach Dyck for all the great questions and talking points and thank you to each and every one of you that have taken the time to listen to us. We love ya! Have a great off-season.

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

The off-season began a little less than 24 hours ago for the Charlotte Independence. Ben and I kind of break down the game but really just had a little chat about why we are sad that the season is over and why it’s so much worse having happened the way that it did. Thank you all so much for listening as we kicked off this little project a little more than halfway through the season; we will be back to wrap up the season in later episodes! We love ya!

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

Episode 14 is all about the first round of the USL playoffs! Your Charlotte Independence come into their first round matchup with the Rochester Rhinos nursing a 5 game losing streak (BOOOOO) but Alex thinks there’s hope to turn it around before it’s too late! Ben doesn’t think so as much.

We also went into detail about the Charleston game including Charleston Goalkeeper Odisnel Cooper’s player of the week type performance.

This episode pairs well with caramel corn and hot apple cider or your pumpkin beer of choice. Enjoy responsibly.

Racing Against Cancer Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/racing-against-cancer

Charleston Recap: https://soccernsweettea.com/i-hate-everything-3d4d3b77a832

Predictions:

Alex: CLT 2 v ROC 1

Ben: CLT 0 v ROC 1

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

In this episode Alex and Ben dive in to what went wrong for the Independence at Louisville Slugger Field agains Louisville City but also take some time to admire Caleb Calvert’s goalazo! Of course an episode about Louisville wouldn’t be complete without a rant about their field so that came up a few times as well.

When we previewed Charleston we talked about a few options for a starting 11 and whether or not we could see any drastic changes before Saturday. Thank you always for listening and come on you Jacks!

Racing Against Cancer Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/racing-against-cancer

Louisville Recap: https://soccernsweettea.com/clt-loses-6c14cfab7bfc

Predictions:

Alex: CLT 1 CHS 2

Ben: CLT 2 CHS 1

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

Episode 12 features a special guest, Chris Davis! Ben, Alex and Chris got together on Saturday evening to record this episode following the Charlotte Independence’s third straight loss. This episode is a little different, in that the three of us took a more emotional approach to talking about the Cincinnati game and the upcoming Louisville game.

If you’re looking for a more analysis based approach to explaining the loss to FCC, you won’t find it here as I said we took a more emotional approach and mainly ranted about not being able to score goals. Hopefully we will be able to discuss how the Independence went into Louisville and stole 3 points next week! Thank you for listening and as always, come on you Jacks!

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

Talkin’ Jacks is back again! Following a bad week of results, Alex and Ben break down the 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies and try to pull out some positive notes in an otherwise negative week of soccer. Next we talk about FC Cincinnati and the Queen City Cup match coming this FRIDAY and Ben accuses Alex of being a closeted FC Cincinnati fan (he would be wrong.) We talk about how this matchup looks good on paper and then give our predictions.

At the end we try to answer the questions that we didn’t have time to answer in the last episode concerning Luke Waecther and Coach Jefferies. You’re going to need a snack and a nice beverage to consume this entire episode so go ahead and grab one(or several.) Thanks for listening!

TBR Recap: https://soccernsweettea.com/rowdies-best-jacks-69689300d937

Predictions:

Alex: Charlotte Independence 2 - FC Cincinnati 1

Ben: Charlotte Independence 2 - FC Cincinnati 0

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

In an abbreviated midweek edition of Talkin’ Jacks, Alex and Ben talk about some of the things that went wrong to cause a 3-0 loss to the Charleston Battery (there were too many to cover all of them.) In the second half of the show, we talk about the tough task of facing the Tampa Bay Rowdies on short rest and on the road where they are one of the best teams in the USL. We will be back on Tuesday with a longer, more normal episode so stay tuned. Thank you for listening and hopefully the Jacks can turn this around!!

Predictions:

Alex: Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 - Charlotte Independence 1

Ben: Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 - Charlotte Independence 2

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

After a disappointing draw against the Ottawa Fury left the Independence winless against Canadian teams this year, Alex and Ben discuss what went wrong and what went right that salvaged a point. In the second half of the show, we preview the Southern Derby against The Charleston Battery on Wednesday(rescheduled from 9/9) It's a busy week for Charlotte and for us, thank you for listening!

CLTvOTT recap: https://soccernsweettea.com/cltvott-ends-1-1-f014e4b20c4e

Alex's MOTM: Austin Yearwood - Game changing substitute, assisted the equalizer

Ben's MOTM: Lewis Hilton - 88% passing accuracy and scored the equalizer

Predictions for CHSvCLT:

Alex: 0-0 draw

Ben- 0-1 Charlotte

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

There's no game to review, as the away trip to Charleston was rescheduled for September 20th. Ben and Alex attempt to preview the Ottawa Fury game but spend most of the episode talking about the race for the top 4 and the rest of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Thanks for listening as always, and if you have questions, you know where to find us! Come On You Jacks!

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons

After a slight delay and some big personal news, Alex and Ben discussed the Charlotte Independence's 3-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers and previewed the Southern Derby matchup against the Charleston Battery! Plus we give an injury update on several injured Jacks. Thank you always for listening!

Alex's MOTM: Lewis Hilton - assist, 4 chances created, set piece taking

Ben's MOTM: Enzo Martinez - two goals scored, USL player of the week

Enzo Player of the Month Voting: uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/829263?referrer_id=3328873

Stories: soccernsweettea.com/tagged/charlotte-independence

Music: "Good to Be Alone" by The Bomb Busters, used under Creative Commons