I promise the weather was bad all day, that's a big part of why the stadium is... Less than full.
Anywho, with apologies to
@Tyrannosaurus Dan, Charlotte got back to winning ways last night by beating Phil "Fraud" Neville and Portland 2-0.
I'm not sure how much there is to read into here; Portland are absolutely atrocious despite having a ludicrously talented squad for this league. Neville getting hired there continues to be baffling to the outside and, I'm sure, infuriating to those who support the Timbers.
That said, despite missing Liel Abada, we looked significantly improved in midfield. Westwood I'm starting to think doesn't have the legs any longer, but he's the undisputed captain of the side and I think for an Englishman like Dean that will make Ashley undroppable. He's not fell off a cliff, but there are a lot of small things that he can't do that I believe would tangibly improve us as a team. C'est la vie on that one for now, I'm happy enough with him and he's our Coady in terms of leadership.
Brecht Dejaegere
finally put in a decent performance, playing out on the wing. He was ostensibly a central midfielder at Toulouse but since arriving here he's looked pretty wretched in that position, but quite useful wide. Odd one as he's not a prototypical winger in the least and certainly not quick enough to play the role "traditionally". But if it works, it works.
As for our first goal, I can only let it speak for itself. Petkovic is one who I think
could be in Europe within a couple of seasons. He was excellent as the #10 throughout, and you don't necessarily realize how big he is until you see him in person. He's got every physical tool.
Shout outs to Patrick Agyemang for continuing to blossom before our eyes, no goal for him today but a shit ton of good work. And double shout outs to Enzo Copetti, who I think is probably still a bad footballer, but he took his chance finally and I'm glad of it for him. One of those goals that you could feel the player
needed, whether or not it "opens the floodgates".
Oh, and
@Lycan's boy Tyger Smalls got some minutes again and even nutmegged a dude. Which was sick, obviously.