Nathan Byrne: The Right-Hand Man
Nathan Byrne: The Right-Hand Man
Nathan Byrne, captain Ashley Westwood’s “right-hand man,” is a key ingredient in Charlotte FC's nine clean sheets, but the English fullback still feels there’s work to do.
Nathan Byrne, like the rest of Charlotte FC’s back line, has had a stellar year, full of clean sheets and bottles of wine from coach Dean Smith. However, he doesn’t think he’s reached the peak of his game.
“I think I’ve always got more, I always want to push for more,” said Byrne in a June 26 interview with Soccer Sheet. “It’s just about looking after my own performance and helping as many as I can around me.”
When captain Ashley Westwood was suspended last week due to yellow card accumulation, Westwood’s “right-hand man” was the skipper’s pick to be the Crown’s captain during the team’s trip this past Saturday. The armband eventually would go to midfielder Brandt Bronico, but it’s easy to see why Byrne was also a logical choice. Like Westwood and Smith, he’s a veteran English footballer, and the trio have formed a strong connection.
“When it comes to Westy, similar to the manager we just get each other, we understand each other,” said Byrne. “We’ve got the same terrible jokes, so we’re very close on the team.”
Byrne also agrees with some of his fellow defenders that the change from former coach Christian Lattanzio’s system to Smith’s easier system has helped, but he says there are other factors involved as well, including the team’s cohesion.
“When you look at clean sheets, a lot of people look at the back four and the goalkeeper, but I just feel like as a team, as a whole, the whole eleven are set up defensively to help each other,” said Byrne. “We try and negate as many one v one battles as possible … the cohesion, I keep saying, it runs into the pitch as well, so I think it just helps us that it’s not individual and it’s more as a team.”
Soccer Sheet asked Smith about the fullback at the coach’s weekly press conference.
“Nathan’s an experienced player. My teams have played against [Byrne’s] teams quite a few times before,” said Smith at a June 27 press conference. “He understands the game, he’s got real respect in the dressing room as well from the players, so he’s one of [those] players that I think the players look up to, and he probably doesn’t even realize that they do because he’s that sort of character. Very, very professional and a coach’s dream, to be honest.”
On the “Charlotte Soccer Show” podcast, Westwood told hosts John Hayes and Daniel Bramlette that Byrne was one of the team’s most important leaders.
“It’s up to the gaffer [who serves as captain] … but for me personally, it’s Nathan Byrne,” said Westwood during a June 23 release party for his beer, “The Captain,” at HopFly Brewing Co. on Mint St. in Charlotte. “He shouts, he talks, he leads. Again, he’s just always available, you can always rely on him. And I think for Nathan, he’s my right-hand man. He gives a lot of advice to the young lads.”
Westwood continued to sing Byrne’s praises, explaining the work he does for the team that doesn’t always get noticed.
“Obviously I wear the armband, but Nate does a lot of work around the changing room,” said Westwood. “Nathan for me is an incredible human being.”
A Natural Leader
Byrne told Soccer Sheet that leadership comes naturally to him, with skills forged in the raucous environment of the English Football League.
“Some players have to push to do it, some it just sort of happens,” said Byrne. “Coming from where I came from, it was quite normal to be very vocal and try and get the best out of my teammates. I don’t really think about it, to be honest.”
Being a leader in the locker room isn’t new to Byrne, either. During his four years at Wigan Athletic, Byrne was twice voted “Players’ Player of the Year” by his teammates.
“The English environment is very loud and obnoxious a lot of times, especially in sport,” said Byrne. “I’ve always just been taught to not be embarrassed [to speak up] … I don’t really care.”
Byrne sees his leadership role as both a mentor and teacher, especially to Charlotte’s young center back pairing of Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett.
“They’ve been great: willing to learn, hard working, want to get better. And it’s not just those two,” said Byrne. “I still have things to learn, but when I was younger I always looked to the more senior players to get advice, and try and copy what they’re doing, and try and improve. Now, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about our whole group, and we’re all trying to push each other and trying to do the best we can to keep getting those clean sheets.”
Red, Red Wine and Clean Sheets
Things didn’t go Charlotte FC’s way against the Houston Dynamo FC last night in Texas. Byrne, goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, and the rest of Charlotte’s defense struggled to hold Houston scoreless, and allowed a goal in the first 30 minutes of play for the first time all season. Though the team regrouped after the first hydration break and kept Houston to a single goal, they couldn’t find the success they found during their last trip to Texas, winning three sweltering matches in a row to advance to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup competition in 2023.
Byrne made his presence known throughout those last 60 minutes, with key stops, blocks and clears. Even as Smith replaced defender Jere Uronen with forward Tyger Smalls to chase the draw, Byrne, Privett, Malanda, and Kahlina were able to hold Houston scoreless in the second half - a moral victory, if not one that came with points.
Despite the loss, Byrne still has wine to celebrate with: a gift from Smith to the back line that comes with each clean sheet. Earlier in the year, Byrne told the media that Smith had fallen behind on his wine payments, but in our Wednesday interview he assured us Smith was paid up.
“Apart from the other day,” Byrne said, referencing Charlotte’s 0-2 away win over Philadelphia on June 22. “So I’ll be chasing him up this week.”
For those counting at home, that’s eight bottles of wine so far this season - nine if Byrne successfully chased Smith down for the final bottle. However, Byrne isn’t counting his victories; instead, he’s already looking forward to the next challenge.
“I just take one game as it comes and try to win every one,” said Byrne. “They’re all the same, to be honest. I just want to win games - as many as I can - and hopefully at the end we come out with something.”