Big News Week for Charlotte FC & Karol Świderski
Plus: George Marks loves Rhino Market, Twitter Bots, Higher Season Ticket Prices, International Play, Player of the Week honors, and more!
When I turned in a light-hearted column for Queen City Nerve last week on Charlotte FC players’ favorite things, I had no idea how big a news week the team would have. As I wrote for the Nerve:
Karol Świderski finally overcame Charlotte FC’s streak of bad luck to score two goals on Saturday against the Chicago Fire, as well as a third that was disallowed on a dubious call. After starting the second half down 2-0, Świderski’s late heroics — his final goal was in the sixth minute of stoppage time — turned a loss into a draw, and then a draw into a win
The 2-3 road win extinguished Chicago’s playoff hopes while keeping hope alive at Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte is now in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four points out of the playoffs.
More from our Charlotte FC Player Poll
Before we get into a big news week for Charlotte FC, I want to share some extra thoughts from my poll of Charlotte FC players. The best interview was with goalkeeper George Marks, who loves Rhino Market & Deli. Simply listing his answers doesn’t do the conversation justice, so you can listen to the interview in all its glory below; hopefully George’s endorsement is enough to bring back the Rhino Market in Concourse A at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Additionally, interim head coach Christian Lattanzio answered some of our questions about his favorite things in Charlotte after press time:
Favorite Spot to Grab a Bite to eat: North Italia, an answer he shares with goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Best thing about Charlotte: Freedom Park
What are you doing when the season is over: Spending time with family and friends.
Of course, shortly after Charlotte FC’s October 9th “Decision Day” match, we’ll also know whether or not Lattanzio will be coming back to Charlotte after his break. For what it’s worth, TopBin90 recently made the case for Charlotte’s front office to keep Lattanzio as coach, with Brian Maurer writing, “Keeping Lattanzio for a full season in 2023 would give Charlotte FC a coach who the organization is familiar with, and can know they can count on when it comes to implementing a game plan and culture that the club desires to achieve.”
Big News Week for Charlotte FC
Let’s review:
Charlotte kept hope alive in Chicago after a disappointing first half. Karol Świderski was denied a hat trick by a dubious call but picked up his third brace of the season after scoring a second goal in the sixth minute of injury time. The 2-3 away victory put Charlotte (12-17-2) in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, 4 points out of the playoffs. As of right now, Charlotte has superior tiebreakers to the 6th and 7th place teams in the conference; they just need the points.
For his efforts against the Chicago Fire, Świderski picked up MLS Player of the Week and Team of the Week honors. In recent matches Świderski has been playing at the attacking midfielder and wing positions, and it seems to be working.
Ben Bender was named to MLS’s 2022 22 Under 22 list of the best young players this year. While his minutes have been on the decline as Lattanzio continues to make adjustments at midfield, the #1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft has had an impressive rookie season with 3 goals and 6 assists.
A Charlotte FC fan poll on Twitter went sideways this week. The poll to select the biggest fan – winner gets crowned at the Philadelphia match – received a suspiciously high 22,401 votes and was apparently freeped by bots, pushing an early lead for Chico aka “La Muerte” into a decisive victory for Marcela Sierra. Charlotte FC’s Chief Fan Officer (and Roy Kent lookalike) Shawn McIntosh responded to the concerns here:
Many Charlotte fans are feeling sticker shock. Charlotte FC released new season ticket pricing and sent emails to PSL holders to renew. Prices went up as much as 18% for 2023 season tickets, on top of Charlotte’s highest-in-the-league season ticket prices. In Charlotte FC Facebook groups, fans have noted that other clubs – like Atlanta FC, which has a reputation for being fan-friendly – have both better season ticket holder perks as well as lower prices. Atlanta, for example, pays for away tickets for their STHs.
Yordy Reyna is on international duty with Peru. They play Mexico (tomorrow) and El Salvador in friendlies this week. Świderski is on international duty as well with the Polish Men’s National Team; Poland is competing in the Nations League with two games this week. Yesterday, Poland lost 0-2 to the Netherlands; Świderski was on the bench but did not appear. Poland’s next match is at 2:45 PM EDT on Sunday against Wales at Cardiff City Stadium.
I’m interested in going deeper into the season ticket story and some of Charlotte FC’s attendance and ticketing practices, as well as the poll that got manipulated by bots if you have tips about either.
Finally, if you’ve been enjoying Soccer Sheet, please vote for us as the best blog in the Best of the Nest, ranking your favorites in the Queen City.