travisura

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/charlotte-fc-2022-season-preview Charlotte FC 2022 Season Preview By Tom Bogert @tombogert Monday, Feb 21, 2022, 09:00 AM 2022 Schedule First game: Feb. 26 - 6:00 pm ET at D.C. United Home opener: March 5 - 7:30 pm vs. LA Galaxy Full schedule Download the schedule Buy the 2022 jersey Armchair Analyst's Breakdown Strength: They have a coach who’s willing to be very honest. Weakness: Maybe too honest… Key Departures Riley McGree: It’s rare, if not outright unprecedented, for an expansion club to have an actual departure leading up to their first game. Australian international Riley McGree was acquired to be a fulcrum of their midfield and was loaned to Birmingham City until Charlotte reported for preseason this winter, but it became apparent a number of European clubs wanted him and he wanted to stay, then a move to Middlesbrough FC happened. McGree never actually arrived in Charlotte, instead staying in England’s Championship. Key Acquisitions Karol Swiderski: Charlotte’s first no-doubt-about-it, unmovable DP is Karol Swiderski. The Poland international was acquired for around a $5 million transfer fee from Greek club PAOK and will be the first choice center forward in Miguel Angel Ramirez’s 4-3-3 formation. MLS clubs have found some success with Polish forwards in recent years, like New England’s Adam Buksa and Portland’s Jaroslaw Niezgoda. Sergio Ruiz: Charlotte’s first-ever signing, Spanish midfielder Sergio Ruiz is a player sporting director Zoran Krneta has raved about. The club were deliberate in building out their spine first, with Ruiz a core part of that strategy. He excelled in the Spanish second tier and MLSsoccer.com reported a number of clubs made inquiries and offers about acquiring him, but Charlotte didn’t budge. Jordy Alcivar: A rising Ecuadorian international, Jordy Alcivar already has 86 appearances under his belt in his native country with LDU Quito before signing with Charlotte this winter. The defensive midfielder will play a key role for CLT FC and will likely be on the roster as a Young DP to start the season, but can be bought down with allocation money in the future. Anton Walkes: One of a few key players with MLS experience, Anton Walkes was acquired in the Expansion Draft after being left unprotected by Atlanta United. Charlotte took the defender with their first selection and signed him to a long-term contract extension before their inaugural game. Guzman Corujo: A Uruguayan center back who was captain of Nacional and has extensive Copa Libertadores experience? Guzman Corujo’s signing has flown under the radar a bit because most of us aren’t very good at talking about center backs until they get here. But Corujo is one to keep an eye on for Charlotte’s inaugural defensive unit. Full roster Projected Starting XI Predictions Charles Boehm: 14th in East Tom Bogert: 13th in East Matt Doyle: 14th in East David Gass: 14th in East Sam Jones: 14th in East Joe Lowery: 14th in East Greg Seltzer: 14th in East Andrew Wiebe: 14th in East

Can't wait for the home opener! Y'all will be hearing me screaming from the cheap seats lol

I haven't seen anything to suggest that Tepper is anywhere near as involved with CLTFC as he is the Panthers. Seems like he just wound it up and is letting it run on his own. In my opinion it's pretty easy to view them as two distinct teams in two distinct leagues that just happen to have the same owner.

Looks like we're pretty serious about improving our front line.

I don't think he's fired mid season unless we're like 0-10 or 1-10, something like that. I am worried tho that 9-8 would be "good enough" for Tepper to give him a 4th year.

I don't think anyone on this board was expecting 2015 Cam when he was signed last year. But I'm sure you've had this conversation several times already, so I'm not going to waste anymore of my time. Good luck with your weird fascination with hating Cam. Maybe one day you'll unpack why you dislike him so vehemently.

Are you aware that he was on the roster for a significant chunk of the season last year? He is relevant to bring up in conversations about the past season, and potentially moving forward (i.e. discussing whether or not to re-sign him). It is not an obsession to talk about him in this context. But you claiming that everyone who even mentions his name is somehow obsessed with him reeks of projection on your part.

Your anti-Cam obsession is weird, man.

Oh I agree completely. I'm just thinking that a rollout of new uniforms would inevitably lead to people buying the new jerseys and merch, etc., regardless of how the team was playing. But as you said, the best way to earn more money is to put a winning product on the field.

Maybe the folks on this board wouldn't spend their money, but I have a feeling the fan base as a whole probably would.

Is this a reputable source?

Honestly surprised he hasn't done this already. It would truly separate himself and the team from the Richardson era. And it'd be a quick easy way to sell merch if they look good.

Call me an optimist, but if we make meaningful additions to the OL, then that would get me to look forward to the season. Obviously, we're not gonna do a whole lot with Rhule and Darnold here but if we can end this season with Rhule gone, and get a QB next offseason then hopefully we'll be on the right track. But I understand everyone's pessimism at the current moment.

If they helped the team, then why shouldn't they get a ring? It's too early in the morning to be this worked up over something this meaningless.

Big preseason game against Columbus today. I won't be able to watch (not even sure if it's being broadcast) but I am hoping for a better outing than we had against Charleston.

I try not to compare CLTFC and the Panthers, but Miguel's brutal honesty is so much more preferable to Rhule's used car pitch.

This preseason has killed any expectations I previously had. Obviously they still need time to build chemistry, but man you'd think that just pure talent should carry you in a match against a USL side. I'm looking forward to the season starting just so that I can actually watch them play and get to know the players. I can read scouting reports all day but watching the games is the best way for me to know what we have.

I think they're drop dead gorgeous.

It did have that feel, but the PI was the only blatantly wrong call. And if we look back to the no call on Tee Higgin's TD, it's a wash.

Did we watch the same game? I was engaged from the jump. And I can only think of two bad calls for the game, one caused a Bengals TD, and one led to a Rams TD.

I wasn't expecting a playoff appearance in the first year. Maybe I would have if we would've signed Arriola or Machis. I'm just hoping for a competitiveness in every game and an improvement as the season progresses.

KEEP POUNDING

That doesn't seem very feasible.