THE SPORTSPLEX AT MATTHEWS is about a 35-minute drive outside Charlotte’s downtown core. As new beginnings go, it’s a pretty inauspicious place. But, it’s where Jim McGuinness’ football management career will properly begin later this evening.
The local side – the Independence – welcome Indy Eleven to town for their United Soccer League opener and after an off-season full of change, the Donegal native remains the home side’s most curious acquisition. Even the USL itself has dubbed him ‘the most interesting head coach in the league’.
The news of his appointment was announced last December but McGuinness could still do with a couple of extra weeks in the hot-seat. The Independence are still waiting on some new signings to arrive in the city. At the end of February, there were just 12 players in the squad so it’s been a hectic period to not just complete deals and the various paperwork but to also try and get the group acclimatised ahead of an opening fixture.
But, speaking to the Charlotte Post earlier this week, McGuinness offered an honest appraisal of the circumstances around this game while also outlining how the success of the overall campaign will rest on how well the players buy into what he’s trying to do.
“We’re still building,” he said.
“We’re still waiting on some players to arrive. When we get everybody here and settled down we’ll be in a better place. But we’re really looking forward to the game and really looking forward to kicking off the new season. Obviously at home as well it’s very special and hopefully we can put a performance that the supporters can be energised by and proud of.”
It doesn’t really matter where you are – the USL or elsewhere. It’s about your vision, style and philosophy. The most important thing is your own principles, what you believe in and what you take into a game.”
A home opener for Charlotte gives the club a chance to gauge the level of early interest in the side.
Last year, their average gate didn’t even break the 1700 mark. From the 33 teams who competed in 2018, the Independence finished 29th on the attendance list. So, as much as McGuinness will talk about building a culture, there are also the basics that need to improve. If the product on the field is struggling to come together, supporters will stay away. Last year, Charlotte finished 11th in the Eastern Conference, never looked likely to make the playoffs and eventually ended up seven points shy of the post-season. It’s not a coincidence that fans weren’t exactly arriving in their droves.
But, there have been some exciting signings and reasons for optimism. Dominic Oduro is a long-time Major League Soccer veteran who’s excelled at Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact, particularly. He’s 33 now and though he may not be able to blitz past defenders in quite the same way as before, he will be an important attacking presence.
Captain Enzo Martinez returns after spending 2018 with MLS side Colorado Rapids while young American left-back Andrew Gutman is on a season-long loan from Celtic. McGuinness has used his connections with the Glasgow giants to also land 20-year-old midfielder Mark Hill on a similar deal.
“We always want to win every single game but it’s looking at the bigger picture of the whole season,” Martinez said this week.
“Our jobs are on the line. You have to prove to the coach that you’re the best player so every single game has that in itself. We have the mentality that we want to do things right and build a system that we want to play. The players are buying in and everyone is in tune. It’s just learning that system and getting to know each other and we’ll improve.”
One of the key areas that McGuinness needs to address is the defensive frailties that cost Charlotte dearly last season. From 34 games, they conceded 57 times and clean sheets were a huge problem. The attacking talent won’t be worth much if the team can’t solve issues at the back.
But, McGuinness is realistic and appreciates that there might be some teething problems.
“It’s about trying to impart knowledge to the guys and for them to take it on board,” he said.
“There will be a lot of learning in the initial stages and until we get everybody here…It will be step by step and building blocks and we all understand that but at the same time, the guys that have been here have been excellent. A very solid group – very coachable and they want to learn. That’s what’s really important. The best test – the acid test – is the games themselves. We’ll know a lot more on the back-end of this weekend about the system and how we want to execute it. It won’t be perfect – we understand that now – but what we’re looking for is the perfect mentality to try and implement the principles that we’ve tried to develop. Right now is about our shape, our energy levels, how we want to press, how we want to be positive, taking a step forward instead of a step backwards, taking the game to the opposition and being on the front foot.”
Andy Dunne joins Murray Kinsella and Ryan Bailey to discuss Joe Schmidt’s undroppables and how France might attack Ireland’s predictability in The42 Rugby Weekly.
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