It's 'squeaky bum' time for Charlotte FC
Charlotte aims for playoff push as MLS schedule resumes Saturday with first of nine games; Plus: English midfielder Paterson reunited with Smith, advancing Red Bulls and more
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6th-place Charlotte FC has reloaded its roster and set sights on finishing strong over the final 9 games of the MLS schedule
New attacking midfielder Pep Biel is one of three new faces in practice for Charlotte FC this week, along with Englishman Jamie Paterson and Israeli Idan Toklomati. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
We are two-thirds of the way through the first season under the Englishman Dean Smith, and we are still learning to speak his language. In the theater seating-style meeting room Smith dubbed the “learning zone,” at Charlotte FC’s practice facility, it’s not just players getting educated. Assembled local media got schooled at Thursday’s press conference on the English colloquialism for, um, crunch time.
“There’s a saying in the U.K. that we’re getting to the time that becomes ‘squeaky bum time,’” Smith said. “It’s a time that I really enjoy, because it’s the time when good teams go on good runs. And when good teams go on good runs, they win things. … I feel that we’ve added the quality to our squad, and when other bums go squeaky, ours won’t.”
Bums go what? A quick Google search got to the — hee — bottom of it. Legend has it that Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Manchester United coach who is the John Wooden of English soccer, coined the phrase at a press conference, though there’s some debate whether he said, “squeaky bum time” or “squeeze ya bum time.”
Either way, the image is clear.
Charlotte begins its stretch run after being eliminated from Leagues Cup two and a half weeks ago. Charlotte, which is No. 6 in the Eastern Conference, has nine MLS games left and a realistic shot at its best finish yet. If Charlotte can finish in the top 7 it would qualify for a best-of-three first-round playoff series and be assured of hosting at least one playoff game. The team resumes MLS action Saturday at home against the New York Red Bulls, the team that bounced them from the No. 8 vs. No. 9 play-in game 5-2 last Oct. 25.
Charlotte FC has bolstered its roster with three additions in the past week or so, including two new attacking midfielders: Pep Biel, the Spaniard who arrived on transfer from Olympiakos; and more recently Englishman Jamie Paterson, who was signed this week as a free agent. Charlotte also officially announced the signing of 19-year-old Israeli forward Idan Toklomati, though he will start with Crown Legacy FC.
The flurry of roster moves came in addition to signing veteran U.S. Men’s National Team defender Tim Ream two weeks ago.
Smith said Thursday that Ream is the only one of the new acquisitions who will be available to play Saturday against the Red Bulls, but he hopes to have Biel for the Atlanta United game on Aug. 31 and Paterson for the Montreal game on Sept. 14. Both are in practice with Charlotte FC but have to return to their native countries to acquire visas.
Winger Liel Abada has returned to practice from the Paris Olympics and has shown glimpses of brightness working with fellow designated player Karol Swiderski for the first time in a closed-door “friendly” against the Charlotte Independence on Saturday.
“The training has definitely gone up a notch,” Smith said. “You can feel that.”
As Charlotte FC writer Caleb Adams pointed out, six of Charlotte’s upcoming opponents are ranked below 7th place in the standings. Five of the last nine games are at Bank of America Stadium, where Charlotte has lost just twice in 12 games this season. And the farthest Charlotte will have to travel is Montreal, which is in the Eastern time zone.
“There’s a lot of points to be taken if we play the way we can,” defender Jere Uronen said.
Smith and protégé Paterson reunite: English midfielder signs as free agent
Paterson joined Charlotte FC’s practice midweek. He’s likely not eligible to play because of visa issues until Sept. 14 in Montreal. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
It was a well-keep secret until he showed up to practice on Wednesday morning, but Charlotte FC has finally signed a “Dean guy” in Jamie Paterson.
Paterson, who is well known in English soccer circles for the 14 seasons he spent in the English Championship, got his start in professional soccer as a 16-year-old playing for Smith on the Under-18 team Academy team in Walsall.
“I think my wife’s more excited of Jamie coming, because she’s loved him as a kid,” said Smith, who said he’s kept in touch with him ever since.
Paterson went on to play for Smith for three years on Walsall’s first team — in League One, England’s third-tier — before being sold for £1 million pounds ($1.3 million) to Nottingham Forest of the EFL (English Football League Championship).
Now at 32 years old, Paterson turned down multiple offers in the EFL to give MLS a try. Smith invited him to come watch Charlotte FC play Inter Miami at Bank of America Stadium on July 3. Once conversations turned serious about a potential deal, Smith said they were simple. He was signed for the remainder of the season with an option for 2025.
“He wanted to come over because it’s me, and I wanted him to come over because it’s him,” Smith said. “We both wanted to have a look at it, and I’m really hopeful that it will work.”
Paterson scored seven goals and assisted six last season with Swansea City and had nine goals and nine assists two years prior.
Season ticket prices climbing
Charlotte FC is raising its season ticket prices by an average of 6.1% for next season, its largest average increase heading into its fourth season in MLS. The increase is on par with an average of 6% across MLS, a club spokesman said. It comes after prices stayed the same last season for season ticket holders not in club level seats.
All Charlotte FC season ticket holders received an e-mail Wednesday about renewing for the 2025 season. Charlotte FC is the only club in MLS to require PSLs, or personal seat licenses, for season ticket holders. There are currently around 24,000 season ticket holders.
Notable: Mullet styling, ‘CFO’ departing, Carolina Ascent FC wins debut
Borrowing Bronico’s look: Eight-year-old Charlotte FC fan Simon Lewis had a special request for his back-to-school haircut this year. When his father Keith asked what he wanted, he pulled out a photograph of Charlotte FC midfielder Brandt Bronico. Not only were third graders at P.A.C.E. Academy in for a fun surprise when Lewis walked in with a Bronico-style mullet, but so was Bronico. Simon’s father tagged him on an Instagram story which Bronico promptly reposted with the words “Looks absolute fire” with a flame emoji.
McIntosh departing: Shawn McIntosh — Charlotte FC’s “chief fan officer” or liaison between team and fans — is leaving Charlotte for a job as CEO of the Las Vegas Lights Football Club, a USL Championship club. McIntosh is returning to Las Vegas, where he used to work as director of ticket sales for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Charlotte created the CFO role for McIntosh, which was believed to be the first of its kind in MLS, when the team launched in 2022. McIntosh, who has worked closely with leaders of the supporters groups especially, will be leaving at the end of August. “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve built in tandem with our supporters and confident that I’ll be leaving the fan experience at this club in fantastic hands,” McIntosh wrote on his LinkedIn page.
Sold-out Ascent debut: Carolina Ascent FC, Charlotte’s first women’s professional soccer team, debuted last Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,533 at American Legion Memorial Stadium. They defeated DC Power 1-0 on a goal by Charlotte’s own Vicky Bruce. Bruce graduated from the Cannon School in Concord and played soccer at both UNC Chapel Hill and Davidson College. Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project was there taking amazing photos, including the one below which he captured with a drone.
A look at American Legion Memorial Stadium on the night of Carolina Ascent FC’s inaugural game last Saturday night. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)
Up Next: Charlotte FC (10-8-7) vs New York Red Bulls (10-4-11)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Find information about how to subscribe for the season here.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
Charlotte FC returns to action for the first time since July 31 in what turned out to be its last action of Leagues Cup with a shootout victory over Cruz Azul.
No. 6 Charlotte begins the final stretch of nine MLS games against the No. 4 team in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte FC lost to the Red Bulls 3-1 in New Jersey on May 29 after giving up three goals in a span of nine minutes. Ben Bender scored in stoppage time in his first game back from knee surgery.
Winger Liel Abada returns to the lineup for the first time since July 17 after playing with Israel in the Paris Olympics. He had one goal and one assist with six shots on target in back-to-back road games against Cincinnati and Columbus before his departure.
Tim Ream is set to debut for Charlotte FC at center back Saturday against the team that drafted him into MLS in 2010. He is vying to take the spot of Andrew Privett on the left side. (MLSsoccer.com wrote a nice feature on Ream this week.)
Veteran midfielder Junior Urso is back available off the bench after missing the better part of two months with an Achilles injury (last game was June 15 vs. DC United).
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her third season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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