r/CharlotteFootballClub • u/cltfcfantv • 8d ago
Would you be happy with Karol coming back?
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u/GlizzieFingers 8d ago
If he wants to be here and if he wants to play in Dean Smith's system then by all means, come on back Karol.
But enough of the European distractions. If he plays well and puts up great numbers he'll earn his move when the time is right.
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u/FrigginGaeFrog 8d ago
I look at Malanda, and the lad seems to genuinely enjoy being here, I know he is for sure gone in the Winter (hopefully not in the summer) but he is constantly posting about the team, thats what I want. You can have Euro ambitions, hell even have your manager all over Europe if you want, but I want you to love this team while you’re here
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u/Cheeks_Klapanen 8d ago
I would. We need a 9 and a 10, and Karol can play both. It would make the transfer window more manageable only having to fill one of those holes.
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u/cltfcfantv 8d ago
Agree, we could even then pivot and possibly upgrade another spot... Like Vargas... mind he is starting to play well here recently.
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u/Chillywhale21 8d ago
vargas has been arguably our best player this year, why would you want to get rid of him? i don’t think there’s any upgrades to vargas under $10m.
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u/cltfcfantv 8d ago
I'm not saying he's a bad player.. but his finishing is not the best... My point was/is that Karol coming back can shift the focus... I still think a #10 is our top priority but takes some of that pressure away should our top 3 targets be unattainable.
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u/Chillywhale21 8d ago
we don’t even play a 10 though, our priority should be an out and out striker. we have plenty of cover in the midfield space, we just need goal scorers. besides, if we did play a 10, i’d like to see ben fill that spot more often.
vargas is still only 22 and been here from the start. seems the players like him and trust him with the ball. his finishing will improve, it already has tremendously. not to mention he’s great on the counter and finding the long through/diagonal ball to the striker or other wing. not to mention he’s our best 1v1 player by a mile, get him space on the left side and he’s going to beat just about any right back.
building a front 3 with abada and vargas on the wings will be ideal if we have a good striker that can finish in the box and can create their own chances when needed.
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u/cltfcfantv 8d ago
All valid points. Just opening up the discussion. If Vargas could get more on target his game will improve ten fold.
We don't play a true 10 cause we really have none. Bender is coming back yes and should help. We def need more link up from the back to the front through the middle imo.
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u/Chillywhale21 8d ago
playing a 10 would be tough for us. the 10 is (imo) the hardest position to play and the hardest for a coach to get the most out of. you need 2 REALLY strong defensive midfielders behind them to make it work effectively. i think djiallo is 1, but we don’t really have another. bronico can work hard, but that’s about it, i don’t trust him on the ball.
we’ll see what happens. i’d be open to playing a 10 if we got a really good one, but they’re rare these days and usually expensive. there’s a reason it’s a dying position, unfortunately
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u/Groundhog63 8d ago
We could play him in the CAM role he played at times last year and seemed comfortable in, which would mean he plays at the same time as Agy. A diamond up front of Vargas-Agy-Abada-Swiderski would be quite formidable.
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u/Slight_Entertainer72 8d ago
Would love to have him back. We need serious help upfront. Agy is all athleticism and no finishing
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u/rcjhynwa 8d ago
I don’t get the dislike some people have for Karol. I understand he wanted to play in Europe and wasn’t committed to being here long term. But when he put the jersey on and played he gave us his all. 15 goals, 8 assists, 7.1 player rating last season. That was with him playing out of position so we could run copetti out there to not do anything for us. If we had karol this year we’d be challenging for first. If he rejoins the team and gets meaningful minutes he will finish the season as our top goal scorer even though he missed half the season.
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u/finn_thefinn 8d ago
If we can’t add 2 high quality DPs better than Karol, then there isn’t a point in selling him. Karol’s value is likely lower than it was last year after his stint in Italy, but in the MLS he has proven himself to be capable of scoring double digit goals, even for a lackluster team.
Meanwhile, we have taken big swings on DPs in the last year (Aaron Ramsey, Albert Grønbæk, Luciano Rodríguez, Marco Reus) and only landed 1, Liel Abada. If we aren’t going to land 2 DPs better than Karol, why force a sale? Despite going to Italy, he hasn’t fractured the locker room or fallen out with Deano.
If he does well, then his value goes up and we can make the choice to sell this winter. If he doesn’t, then we have lost almost nothing on a fee between now and winter. So unless we are about to sign 2 amazing DPs, I’m team Karol.
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u/AmassablePanda7 8d ago
I would love to have the polish unicorn back out there. I think Agy should still be the focus in developing him and we should still bring in a dp striker.
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u/Mylilneedle 8d ago
I love this man. I wish we would start a genuine fan campaign to tell him he’s wanted, and we didn’t feel slighted. We get it, he wanted to be closer to home. He always gave us his all
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u/sokuyari99 8d ago
Hard to give your all when you’re pouting on the ground half the game while missing opportunities to shoot because the game is still going on around you
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u/LC3423 8d ago
Exactly. Unfortunately, Copetti took over this role and stole the flop spotlight from Swid. I think people forget about Swid's theatrics in Year 1.
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u/sokuyari99 8d ago
Yea I was never a huge fan. At least when Copetti was complaining he wasn’t also screaming at the team and pretending he was faultless.
I’d be perfectly happy if Karol didn’t come back
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u/LC3423 8d ago edited 8d ago
I have never seen what his fans have seen. I have tried to, but, at best, he was always a mediocre player, in my opinion. He has a good left foot, but that is as far as it goes for me. People complained about Copetti flopping (I hated that, too) and not scoring goals, but before Copetti, Swid was the flopper, and he did it often in Year 1.
He has scored 22 goals in 62 games (2 seasons) for us. That equates to 0.19 (Edit: Correction - change .19 to 0.35. Math is difficult) goals per game. In comparison, Agy has played 19 games this year and has 5 goals, which is 0.26 goals per game. Still not the numbers I hope to see from our top goal scorer, but, still better than Swid (edit: with my new math, Agy is better, but with old school math, he isn't) ...and without all the flops!
So, no, I do not want him back. Cut the losses and get someone who can score some damn goals. Our defense is amazing this year, but if we can't score goals, we will never get past 3rd place.
Now, with all of that being said, IF Swid does come back and is wearing a CLTFC kit, I will cheer him on and hope he proves me terribly wrong.
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u/cltfcfantv 8d ago
Kamil and Enzo were playing beside him. I feel certain with Abada and Pat those number s increase... significantly.
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u/throwmeawaytim 8d ago
22/62 = 0.35 goals per app -- I'm lost. Your math isn't mathing.
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u/LC3423 8d ago edited 8d ago
Hmmmm...you are correct. I am going to blame it on big thumbs and small keyboard. I was doing a bunch of different calculations and, obviously, remembered the wrong one. Apologies for that! (But, 0.35 still isn't a super great number. That's me trying to save face. Haha) Thanks for catching that. Edits above.
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u/YankStonks 8d ago
I personally didn’t like his attitude, but part of his lack of production was that he was played in the 10 role a lot and not as the main striker especially in his second season when Enzo came on. However he was always our most skilled player when he was on the pitch. That being said, I personally would rather move on from him. However, I trust Dean and if he believes he can be used effectively, it’s worth giving Karol a chance
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u/Maleficent-Goat-551 8d ago
I look at this as a sort of second chance for Swiderski. I think he had to eat some humble pie with Verona and got a sense that the grass isn’t always greener. This is a different team altogether with Dean Smith at the Helm and Copetti gone. I am hopeful he will take the opportunity to be a better teammate and work hard for the club to show the fans and front office a bit of gratitude. I think this could be good for all parties involved.
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u/Cerulean_Soup 8d ago
Issue is, he doesn’t want to come back. Maybe now that we’re better managed and have momentum that would change? I think he just wants to be in Europe from a personal perspective.
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u/blackwaltz4 8d ago
But what soccer player doesn't want to be in Europe? He said he'd love to be there, but he also said he'd love to win Charlotte a title in the same breath.
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u/Madnote1984 8d ago
Well, now that his European adventure is at a standstill, the only way he can ensure he eventually gets what he wants is to perform again at a high level.
He starts racking up goals+assists and the suitors will come.
If he acts like a disaffected want away, it won't help his prospects.
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u/Maryjaneniagarafalls 8d ago
I agree. If he doesn’t want to be here, that’s fine… but I don’t want those vibes on our team.
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u/Maryjaneniagarafalls 8d ago
I can’t help but feel some typa way at this point about him. He didn’t want to be here, so it doesn’t make me want him back.
That and his vibe is so different from our crew now that I feel like he’s not gonna mesh. He’s a nice dude, just quiet… feel like even our most quiet dudes have their moments of being loud/out going when the time is right.
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u/PTS21 8d ago
I see this a lot and wonder what the origin of it is. Karol and his wife loved living in Charlotte. Obviously as a footballer, if you get interest from top European leagues, you want to play there. There is not one guy on this team that wouldn't leave in a second if one of those leagues came calling. From a playing standpoint, Karol makes this team much better.
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u/cltfcfantv 8d ago
Some have been pushing this agenda that he doesn't want to be here... From all the convos we have had etc. it seems that is he just fine with being in Charlotte.
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u/PastranaOnRye 8d ago
The "Karol doesnt want to be here" was a leap many made when he expressed his desire to play in Europe (like where any pro would aspire to play).
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u/ThinkOrDrink 8d ago
It’s impossible to know what was in his head, but per the on-field eye test he did not look very engaged towards the end of last season when it was becoming imminent he would leave.
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u/PastranaOnRye 8d ago
That and I don't think the dressing room was big enough for both he and Enzo
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u/Maryjaneniagarafalls 8d ago
You’re not wrong and that’s a good point… who wouldn’t want to play in an European league?! Can’t hate on him for that. I think I even heard in an interview him saying he felt like he shot hjmself in the foot when he said he wanted to go play for a European league…
Plus, he’s closer to home? Right?
I just don’t want to lose a DP spot to him… or Agy!! Agy got fire.
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u/circa1905 8d ago
I ran into him at Sedgefield Park and he said they indeed love Charlotte, but for a European, playing in Europe for a Big 5 league team has always been the dream and goal. No offense to Charlotte intended.
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u/Organic-Order6307 8d ago
To some degree you can’t blame any player, especially if they’re from Europe, wanting to be in Europe. On the other hand, when he left it sounded as though he didn’t want to be a part of Charlotte. If that’s the case let him go. If he does stay, he should not be taking up a DP spot, and the fact the contract with Verona wasn’t written in such a way that they had to take him for $5M if they weren’t relegated looks bad on the FO. We could’ve used him all season. How much did we actually get for the loan?
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u/evilwraith 8d ago
Sure why not? If he wants to be here, and won't be a diva/locker room cancer, I'm for it for the rest of the year. Deano seems like the kind of coach that wouldn't put up with any nonsense anyway.
I think if he played a position kind of like last year when he was doing more distribution and kind of quarterbacking(for lack of a better term) in the danger area, it would be an asset. Scoring more goals would also be nice.
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u/moldy__sausage 8d ago
I like him as a second striker playing underneath Aygemang since he’s pretty solid in his distribution. He also, despite aspiring to play in Europe, appears to me to be a consummate pro. He’s never whining or going through the motions. If he comes back and plays his ass off and does well, leading to an eventual sale, so fucking be it. I’d take that over telling him to train in his own and then selling a DP for pennies on the dollar.
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u/Melodic_Radio_6736 8d ago
Hell yeah! So excited to have a formidable striker on our squad.
He’s always played with passion for us. Now our defense is stronger and we’ve strengthened our front with Abada. We’re missing one more dependable guy that can create and finish. We’re top 4 without him. Imagine where we will end up if he ends up producing for us in this system. Even better if we get one more solid DP during the summer window.
He even said he would be happy to be here but there’s been some false narrative created that he doesn’t want to be here.
Happy for him to have had his opportunity in Europe and hope he gets more of what he wants out of his career. Some fans aren’t happy when a top player expresses higher ambitions. I see it the opposite. We ought to be happy on the occasion we get a European caliber player on our squad even if they eventually leave. Soccer teams are a revolving door and it’s time to capitalize when you’ve got a strong player on your squad until he gets moved up.
As long as we’re paying him and he’s on our roster, he should be starting!
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u/AmassablePanda7 6d ago
Sell if we can but, it's mutually beneficial rn for him to play if he is healthy. He can make a better resume for himself with an elite defense and great goal creation around him and we can find a place willing to take him for what he is worth. It is a setback for both sides but it can allow for patience in finding dp's in this window and next window potentially if he stays for the rest of the season.
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u/jmerim27 8d ago
I hope this is an enticement to get a team to buy him. He doesn't fit into the team. That said, if he is back. He should start up top as he is better than Pat. Pat should be a substitute/situational starter at this point. But how does that change the offense/defense of the team? Will he press? Because if he doesn't, Deano will yank him and make him sit on the bench.
He has a lot to prove before I can trust that he will be a benefit to the team.
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u/Groundhog63 8d ago
It's fine as long as he comes off the bench. I don't want him hindering Agyemang's development. Bring Karol off the bench at the 70 minute mark to spell Pat. He's our player at the moment so it doesn't make sense not to at least use the asset that we already have one the books.
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u/mesosalpynx 8d ago
No. He doesn’t want to be here. He’s made that public.
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u/cltfcfantv 7d ago
Do you have a link to this, where HE made it public? I keep seeing people talking about how he has made it public I just cant seem to find anything on this. Not saying he didn't say it. I would like to think I read/watch pretty much everything about Charlotte FC. From the interview he did with Topbin90 and what the FO has said I am not seeing this anywhere.
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u/murphmobile 8d ago
Who would want a player who asked to leave? A player who isn’t fully committed. It never works out.
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u/FrigginGaeFrog 8d ago
I said this in another post as well, but I am firmly (as of right now) in the sell him and move on to a new #9 camp. However, if he is still on our books, and still has a DP contract, it would be ridiculous to not have him at least make the matchday squad.