Does Charlotte FC have the yips?

Plus former designated player Swiderski tells TopBin90 he's keeping close eye on Charlotte FC; and previewing Toronto game Saturday, when Charlotte's backline will be missing two starters

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‘Gimme’ misses and only six goals in seven games has Charlotte searching for offensive answers

Vargas laments his PK miss vs. New York City FC. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project)

Dare we suggest that Charlotte FC might have … the yips? When something that normally comes easy becomes inexplicably hard?

If we write about them, it’s not saying it out loud, right? (Cue the “Ted Lasso” TV show references and images of his assistant coach “Beard” holding up a sign with the word “yips” scribbled on it.) You can make the case:

They started innocently enough in the first half of the season opener against New York City FC. Striker Enzo Copetti nearly intercepted a pass back to the NYCFC goalkeeper but then whiffed at the ball as he attempted a would-be shot — essentially he swung and missed — as he slipped to the turf and then slammed his right hand down in frustration. That was just the beginning.

Problems escalated in the second half, after Kerwin Vargas drew a handball penalty from a NYCFC defender in the box. Copetti, the more senior striker who in hindsight should have taken the shot, made a big brotherly move and let Vargas have a chance to convert the penalty kick. After a lengthy delay as a replacement referee gave a NYC FC player a yellow card for dissent, Vargas sent a low but slow-paced shot right into the embrace of goalkeeper Matt Freese.

Charlotte Soccer Show podcast host Danny Bramlette has suggested it was a “Sliding Doors” moment, like in the movie where two alternate storylines play out based on the opening and closing of a train door, illustrating how one moment can change the course of so much that follows. It wasn’t a bad take.

Because what has followed is a Charlotte FC team that has scored just six goals in seven games so far, which is tied for the second-fewest goals in Major League Soccer among teams that have played seven games.

After last week’s 1-0 loss in New England, Charlotte FC’s offensive woes were downright glaring. Second-year striker Patrick Agyemang had a chance at an open goal go into the side netting after he’d picked the pocket of the Revolution goalkeeper. He missed another chip-in chance after Ashley Westwood left a generous ball at his feet. Defender Jaylin Lindsey said after the game that Agyemang felt personally responsible for the loss and told teammates so. Lindsey assured him that was unfair — and he’s right. It’s an 11-a-side game, and these point-blank misses have been contagious.

Patrick Agyemang coming up empty vs. Cincinnati. (Photo by Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project.)

Brecht Dejaegere let an open goal gimme get caught up in his feet against Columbus. Iuri Tavares missed a penalty kick against Columbus, too. Copetti mistimed a header attempt in New England that could have cured a lot of ills. It’s a group, um, effort.

After Saturday’s game in New England, when coach Dean Smith was asked what he would pin Charlotte’s frustrating lack of finishing on, the second thing he mentioned? “Belief.” The third? “Confidence.”

Agreed. A lot of this is mental. This is Charlotte FC standing over a three-foot putt. Making a tentative throw back to the pitcher. Serving match point into the net. Back rimming a free throw with the game on the line. The more they miss, the tighter the screws.

But the good news here? Yips, to me, are personal. They usually happen to one guy. And that’s what makes them all the more excruciating to watch up close, as I did when former Atlanta Braves closer Mark Wohlers lost the strike zone, or from afar as Minnesota Twins second baseman Chuck Knoblauch forgot how to throw to first base. Luckily we could chuckle, if not gasp, when the fictional Dani Rojas, of “Ted Lasso” fame, took out the team mascot with a particularly unfortunate PK and lost his way for a while.

Unlike those cases, though, Charlotte’s problem is team-wide. To break out of this funk, they just need one guy to slam home a gimme, to rip a hole through the back of the net with a shot, to release all the angst, and the entire team will breathe. Then more goals will come.

“As I keep saying this to the players, they’ll keep reading that we’re not scoring enough goals and not converting enough chances,” Coach Dean Smith said Thursday. “And I’ve always said before, if you create the chances, it’s not a bad place to be. But we do have to start converting, and the players are aware of that. But if you keep making (chances), you’ve got every chance that you will (convert).”

Among the need-to-improve areas Smith listed last Saturday in rapid-fire succession included working together, doing the right things and improving their technique by keeping balls low, where it’s harder for goalkeepers to get to them.

In the meantime, for good measure, the team has spent extra practice time this week focusing on finishing. As Smith put it, they spent their Wednesday practice working on what they do with the ball, rather than focusing on what the opponent does, as they usually do midweek. A glimpse into training from Charlotte FC’s social media handles showed players firing balls at mini-goals, working on their accuracy.

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Swiderski keeping an eye on Charlotte FC, tells TopBin90 ‘We’ll see what happens’ after loan ends; Krneta confident Swiderski will be taken by Verona, or another club, and doesn’t expect him back

Swiderski speaking via Zoom to Jorge Gonzalez of TopBin90.

When Karol Swiderski left Charlotte FC for Italy in the middle of the preseason, there wasn’t much time for goodbyes. Charlotte FC’s first-ever designated player, who scored 22 goals in the first two seasons, had been asking for a transfer to Europe since last summer. When the possibility of a loan to Hellas Verona came up in late January, Swiderski was on a plane for Italy, and that was that.

Last weekend, though, he caught up with Jorge Gonzalez of TopBin90.com in a video interview that is available through their subscriber-only newsletter. In the conversation, Swiderski seemed to keep open the possibility of returning to Charlotte after the loan is up June 30.

The loan requires Verona to buy Swiderski’s contract if Verona finishes in the top 17 of Serie A, Italy’s top league. If Verona gets relegated — or demoted to a lower league — the team can let him go. Verona is currently in 17th place in Serie A, just one point ahead of 18th-place Frosinone.

When Gonzalez asked Swiderski if there was anything he missed about Charlotte, he said, “It’s nice, but when I come back, I don’t have my number now, so I don’t know. I think they don’t want me to come back. We’ll see what happens.”

He was laughing as he said it, referring to the fact that Charlotte’s new designated player Liel Abada is now wearing his old No. 11 jersey. When Gonzalez asked Swiderski in a more serious tone if he could see himself back in Charlotte after the loan ends, or if he wanted to stay in Europe, Swiderski said: “When you’re on a loan, it’s difficult to say something, but I don’t know what will happen in the summer. … I like MLS. The league is really nice; it’s not like I need to stay in Europe. But we’ll see what happens.”

Zoran Krneta, Charlotte FC’s general manager, had not listened to the Swiderski interview when asked about it on Wednesday morning, but he told The Ledger: “I personally don’t think he’ll come back.”

Krneta reiterated what he said in a sit-down interview with The Ledger after last season ended, that Swiderski came to his office last summer, asking to be moved to Europe. Krneta listened to offers and had a deal in place, but ultimately the club decided to keep its leading scorer for a run at a potential playoff spot. After the season and the arrival of new coach Dean Smith, Swiderski’s stance on wanting to play in Europe did not change.

“Dean doesn’t want a player that doesn’t want to play for him,” Krneta said. “I don’t want a player that doesn’t want to play for him. So we found a solution that was the best possible solution at the time.”

When asked who he thought Swiderski would end up with if Verona gets relegated, Krneta said:

“If not them, then someone else will (sign him) because he’s in Europe (in a shopping) window, people are watching him, he’s playing well,” Krneta said. “(The Polish national team) qualified for the EUROs, he’ll play in the EUROs (the UEFA European Championship.) I’m very confident he’ll be taken, if not by Verona, by some other club. We’ll see.”

Both Krneta and Swiderski said they’ve kept in touch. Krneta said he wishes Swiderski well in his games, etc.

Swiderski spoke fondly of his time in Charlotte, saying his young son Antoni still asks when they are going back to Charlotte and wears Charlotte FC T-shirts. Swiderski told Gonzalez he keeps up with Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, watches as many Charlotte FC games as he can and plans to travel to Charlotte after the EUROs are over.

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Up Next: Charlotte FC (2-3-2) vs Toronto FC (3-3-1)

Three young Walton boys getting an early fitting of the Sir Minty capes Charlotte FC is giving away before the Toronto game Saturday night. (Photo by Carroll Walton.)

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 is back home at Bank America Stadium, where it is undefeated in 12 straight (13 if you include 2023 Leagues Cup vs. Necaxa) including a win over defending MLS Champion Columbus and a tie against Supporters’ Shield winner Cincinnati.

• Charlotte FC will likely be playing without two of its starting four defenders on the back line: Center back Adilson Malanda is doubtful with a hamstring injury he first felt at the end of last week’s 1-0 loss in New England, and right back Nathan Byrne is in the U.K. working on getting his green card.

• Ben Bender participated in full-squad practice this week and is close to being ready for game action, likely with Crown Legacy FC, as he continues his return from October knee surgery.

• Like Charlotte FC, Toronto has only six goals in seven games, and now Toronto is playing with Italian sensation Lorenzo Insigne. He is out with a hamstring injury, which changes the complexion of Toronto’s attack. Insigne has two of Toronto’s six goals this season, both of them game-winners, including his “worldie” in a 1-0 win at home against Charlotte FC on March 9.

• New: Bank of America Stadium has partnered with KultureCity to become Sensory Inclusive Certified. Not only will sensory bags equipped with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and identification lanyards still be available at Guest Relations booths, stadium staff have been trained to recognize and accommodate guests with sensory needs.

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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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