We have been tracking Charlotte FC for two years and big time for the last month!
Aug 30, 2025
New England Revolution- Charlotte FC
Two years ago I wrote .....
Charlotte are in their second MLS campaign, in the first they won 10 home games, a total only bettered by Union and LAFC the two Conference winners and they are always going to get fantastic support in a sports mad city and only Atlanta attract bigger crowds. Their debut home game attracted an all time MLS record crowd of over 73,000 and playing in the home of the NFL Panthers is an advantage given the size and location, which is very much uniquely positioned downtown.
However, for today I want to discuss some of the people behind the scenes. The owner is David Tepper, the 65 yo also owns the Panthers and is described as "arguably the greatest hedge fund manager of his generation" and a very wealthy man. Unlike many of his ilk, his approach seems long term and his senior appointments have followed suit.
Zoran Krneta is Sporting Director and he was appointed in December 2019. He founded the sports agency, Star Sports & Entertainment in 2005 and has identified and brokered contracts for more than 150 soccer players across the globe. He is responsible for all on-field operations, recruiting coaches and support staff, identifying and signing players for the MLS roster and creating the youth development academy.
Special Advisor, whatever that might be, is Steve Walsh, who was also appointed early (March 2020 ...two years before they were due to play their first game), he made my notes yesterday and his name at Leicester City, helping build the squad which won the Premier League. Prior to that he had spent many years at Chelsea and was part of a highly successful scouting team there, but he was in sole charge of recruitment at the King Power and created his magnum opus, signing Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez amongst many others, all for small fees and from unusual sources. For example, Mahrez from the second tier of French football for £400k and Vardy from non league football for £1m. To give his impact some clout, Sir Alex Ferguson referred to Walsh at the time as the "most influential person in the Premier League", which is a pretty good reference. Ferguson might also have added League 1 which City won by 7 points shortly after Walsh's arrival and the Championship, won with 102 points after his return and second stint at Leicester. Months after the title win, Everton activated a buy out clause for Walsh and appointed him their Director of Football, he was relieved of his duties after less than two years and the story was that the magic touch was gone and that the Toffees had "wasted " £150m-£200m on new players.
Wasted seems a big harsh, Everton might not have made the quantum leap forward that they hoped for, but amongst the Walsh signings were Jordan Pickford who is still the Everton and England goalkeeper and he has just signed a new four year contract. Nikola Vlasic who has recently been sold (not by Everton) for three times what was paid, Ademola Lookman now at Atlanta and coming off a great season, is valued at 4 times what Walsh decided was fair and Idrissa Gueye was sold to PSG for £30m ( bought for (£8m). Walsh also signed Dominic Calvert-Lewin for £1.5 m from a League 1 team where he had never scored, a signing in the mould of Mahrez and Vardy, prior to his recent injury issues he was valued at upwards of £50m and still aged only 26 yo he has almost 50 EPL goals and is a full England international. I also understand that Walsh also suggested to the board, which was refused, paying a combined £20m for Harry Maguire ( later sold for £80m, by Leicester of all teams) and Andy Robertson , subsequently also valued at £80m and long regarded as one of the best left backs in football. Walsh stated himself that he had a deal done and about to be signed for Erling Haaland as a teenager for €4m , which Everton also refused to sanction.
This is the whole thing, without patience, almost nothing works. Everton could have brought Walsh in with a long term plan for several seasons, a budget for Y1, Y2, Y3 and let it play out, but as always most clubs want instant success. The season before his arrival they finished 11th, in his two campaigns at the club 7th and 8th which hardly seems terrible, Walsh doubtless made some poor signings, but not all were turkeys and it was not his decision to spend so much , so quickly. His forte was always spotting bargains and he can clearly do that better than almost any other single individual. Walsh "advises" both the owner and the Sporting Director at Charlotte.
Krneta, Director of Scouting, Thomas Schaling and Head of Analytics and Technical Scouting, Lisandro Isei have all also now signed new and multi year contracts, along with head coach Christian Lattanzio. He originally joined as Technical Coach in July 2021, but quickly replaced Miguel Angel Ramirez in the main role. Lattanzio spent many years working for the City group alongside Patrick Vieira, firstly with the youngsters at the Etihad and then with NYCFC and Nice.
All of those coaches have been with the club for almost three years already , some longer and are now tied up for many more and Tepper, who is obviously used (only) to success, knows this project needs the right people and at least a little time.
They have overall invested a lot of money in finding talent that can identify talent and in improving those players once they arrive, it feels like an established process already, considering Charlotte only played their first MLS game in February last year. They also took great pride in the sale of midfielder Riley McGree to Middlesbrough for a large profit after signing him from A-League in Australia, it was sooner than they ideally wanted to sell, but saw it as a clear sign that the process was working and up and running.
They have signed players from 10 different countries , including Brazil, Argentina and Columbia and Walsh has spoken of South America offering rich pickings and we have already seen the benefits of "bargain basement shopping" there at other well run clubs. Not the most obvious one to point out, but as Walsh had so much success in that league/country previously, the signing of 20 yo CB Adilson Malanda from Rodez in Ligue 2 caught my eye, now 21 yo, he has played pretty much every minute of every game since getting up to speed upon his arrival last August and looks a talent and a very mature player for his age in a position where experience is always seen as key.
Charlotte have got a lot right off the pitch, in addition to all the scouting outlets they have a lot of coaches dedicated to getting the very best and every inch of improvement out of the individual, with a modern and advanced approach to analytics and the mental side of sport/life. It all feels in place now and we can expect on field improvement to follow. That would be termed as a playoff spot this season, 8th and 9th place gets you into a playoff game, but 7th into the, new for 2023, Round 1 playoff series and that should be the target. That will be tough, but top 9 is achievable and surely seen as progress and from year 3-4 a new expansion team can really kick on, witness FC Cincinnati this season.
A very interesting project going on in the Carolinas.
Last month I updated with .....
In their first three seasons in the MLS they finished 9-9-5 in the Eastern Conference ,making the playoffs in the last two. They currently sit 9th which will get them in again, but at least 6th place looks achievable. The club are yet to make that quantum leap forward, but everything is in place and as I said above, Tepper is a patient man, unlike a lot of super wealthy individuals. Walsh and Krneta remain at the club, Dean Smith the former Brentford and Aston Villa head coach has been running team matters for 20 months and the other individuals named above only left for bigger jobs. They HAVE to return to the postseason and winning a first playoff game would be seen as progress and will surely be the target. We can keep an eye on them in the next couple of weeks and next season too, as surely even Tepper will be looking for more bang for his buck going forward.
Smith said yesterday that his squad were "fresh" despite the quick turnaround and that they had built confidence from recent results and performances. He also said that injuries had cleared up and he would have far closer to his preferred starting line up going forward.
I hope some of you took notice as I don't write in such detail solely for the good of my health and that is the whole point of the newsletter, looking for teams/players who can improve or regress and not just for the day in question . Charlotte have won five in a row since I sent that update, keeping clean sheets in the last four, which is almost unheard of in MLS play. Charlotte are up to 4th and with 18 points still to play for and home games against two of the other contenders in the Eastern Conference to come, there is even more up for grabs.
Revolution have lost a Conference high 8 home games, they have conceded 2+ goals in 6 of 7 starts here and expected numbers for the season place them 28th of 30 in MLS and suggest they should have conceded an additional 8 goals.
2.25 units Charlotte FC level ball @ 2.17 asian line.
Good luck!
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