From Bad to Worse: Charlotte FC Are Dealing with More Than Just in a Slump

Dean Smith

Charlotte FC are no longer simply “in a slump.” The profound and historic start to the 2025 season–which saw Charlotte atop the Eastern Conference standings for a brief time–now seems to be a fluke and feels more like a fever dream than reality. Charlotte FC are now in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, with an overall record of 8-1-10. To make it even worse, 8 of those losses have come since April 26th. And last night, Charlotte FC conceded two goals in extra time to throw away three points at Sporting KC. To put it simply, this team is not good enough; in fact, Charlotte FC is performing like a bad team.

Our once rock-solid defense is no longer one of the best in the league. We have been one of the worst defenses in the league over the past two months. We’ve now conceded 20 goals across the past 10 games, an average of 2 goals conceded per game; you won’t win many games playing that way.

Our discipline and decision-making simply is not good enough. Mistakes are a part of the game. Misplaced passes, missed opportunities, a bad touch, all of it happens. We’ll never harp on a player or the team for single mistakes. However, some mistakes become inexcusable when the team or players refuse to learn from it and continue to make the same faulty decisions or display the same lack of discipline.

We had an abundance of one on one chances to put the game to bed last night, and we didn’t take them. We missed a couple of key passes to put the game to bed, and we didn’t make them. We lacked focus in the final moments of the game, made more key defensive errors, and we allowed two late goals. That is why WE lost the game. And these key moments extend to almost every single one of our losses over this two month stretch; we won’t start winning until we make it better.

And, as much as it pains me to say, our roster doesn’t appear to be getting too much stronger in the coming months either. Transfer rumors for two of our top players, Patrick Ayemang and Adilson Malanda, are heating up. Replacing these two, while also bolstering our squad depth, will be a tough task for this front office; a front office who has frustrated fans at times with failed transfers. 

Captain, Ashley Westwood, was heated in his press conference and rightfully so. He emphasized the need for this squad to take responsibility and own up to their mistakes. He touched on the fact that if they don’t get things turned around quickly, this could become a “right mess” of a season.

 For us fans, however, it feels as though we’re already there.

Images: Charlotte FC