With two days until the home opener against Atlanta United, Head Coach Dean Smith speaks to the media about the Seattle match, what he’s looking for against Atlanta, as well as the return of Wilfried Zaha to Charlotte after the birth of his child and his expectations for him on Saturday.
What can you tell us about availability This week um availability still galani Forbes and Brandon Cambridge are injured Other than that I think we all go we Haven't seen wealth this week I know we Saw into the maybe got more what can you Tell us about him for Saturday um I can Tell you that he's about to get off a Plane he's become the father to a Daughter uh him and his wife uh so we're Really pleased for them and we're going I make them feel our love um when they Get here and um I'm waiting for them to Take him out for a session at 4:00 this Afternoon um so yeah uh we're really Pleased for them and from what I believe Um mother and child are good so just Quick the family is coming over together No no no wi is on his way over yeah yeah Yeah um in terms of I guess so he'll Train today and then he'll train Tomorrow with you guys he will yeah and I guess you'll make a determination or Do you kind of know someone in your mind What you feel like you can expect for Him I know until I speak to to wiol and See how he is today um you know not made Any decisions at all yet in terms of What you've been able to surmise you Said that you wanted to be more of a Possession team this year and your teams Historically have held more possession Than Charlotte did at Mass last year how Difficult is that to try and change and
Transform with the roster you have um at The moment you know I came in last Season and looked at the roster and I Felt the best way to go was the way we Went last season uh was to become tough To beat um you know I felt we did that Um you Know as poorly as we played last week we Were still tough to beat um you know Still showed a lot of Resilience um you know and we're trying To turn that side of the game in into a More of a positive for us But again if teams are going to pressure High then the space is in behind you Know so don't play for playing sake I'm Not I don't want our players to keep Possession for possession sake every Time we've got the ball it's for a Reason that reason is to try and score The goal and how you try and score the Goals um there's so many different ways To go and do it um keeping possession of Ball and drawing teams out is one Finding your spare man is another Finding where the spaces and running Into it is another uh set pieces so There's lots of different ways to go and Score goals so so you know we're looking At all them different ways and I said From the start what I want is my team to Become better decision makers not just Better on the ball better decision Makers what do you think of Eric
Williamson's playing his first week I Thought first half I thought he found The ball well I thought he used the ball Okay um but like probably nine others Around him on the in they didn't cover The ground quick enough as a team um I Felt that you know whenever we went Impressed we went impressed individually And got got found out and I thought as The second game went on he he he lost a Couple of balls as well um so you know That was the decisions make the sub then Edon has been somebody who we've gotten A little bit of a look at the end of the Year in Legacy at the beginning I know You said you want to still try and add Some more depth to the front line but How does he help maybe answer that Question of what's behind P well I think He he showed when he came on for the Last 15 minutes or so what it was um He's impressed me in Pre season I said That you know in the press conference Last week as well um he's been really Bright and he came on and I thought he Showed you know he gave energy to the Team that we needed at that time he went And won a couple of headers put the lad Under pressure for the goal and you know Putting AC cross that got the own goal And the The Equalizer as well so yeah He's certainly coming to the the forward At the moment for us and um we're Pleased we've how he's he's progressing
In and and trying to fulfill the Potential he's got give Atlanta's new Additions particularly in the forward Line um what adjustments do you have to Make with your own defensive side to Limit their opportunities and Capabilities well you know that the lads You know uh keep a clean sheet and I buy Them wine so I might put the pressure on That CU I drink wine so if you know we Concede a goal then they might have to Get me a bottle of wine um and just uh Turn the tables a little bit so uh but No I mean listen they've spent a lot of Money I mean I mean hav to spent 32 Million on on two players it's a lot of Money in this league um you know and They they've got a quality Squad anyway So we have to be wary of them um you Know but not overthink what they're About and think more about what wor About because knowing my back players as I do they'll relish that challenge of Playing against these Players um is Eric Williamson um able to Practice do he got above yeah Eric Missed Monday's training session um but He's he's trained since then okay and I'm wondering about um tar is he someone Like how where I see Stan yeah no tarish Is back in in full training as well cuz He had an injury during pre-season um While we were in Coachella um but he's He's back to full training now okay I
Know a lot of guys turn the ball over in Seattle but was Pep a bright spot in Some of the in just some of the actions He had you know I don't think Pep's 100% Yet um you know I there was a couple of Actions during the game um which I spoke To him about where I think there was a Couple where I thought he could have had A a foul or a free kick and his Reactions to get back wasn't what what It would be if he was 100% um so I think The only way you make him 100% is by Keep working him in training but giving Him games as well um because he has got The qualities that we need as we saw With the delivery for the goal I mean I Think some people have read you know are Saying well you've had the whole pre Season to work out these problems this And that but to go from the level of a Preseason scrimmage and Coachella to Playing some of the top teams in NLS I Mean it's a quick it's it's a big jump Right I mean yeah I I don't quite Understand what the problems are that we Have we haven't done in preseason well You weren't happy with how the team Played right that year no because they Didn't play well um but that that was Pretty much they didn't run hard enough Um you know I've had the data through Now and see ran 5K further than OST dur In the game which you know that's where The data gives me the evidence that my
Eyes were showing me um you know and That's unlike us and I don't expect to See that again from the players because You know they got told about that you Know um after the game and they got told About that when we reviewed the game on On Sunday and um you know unfortunately It was like you know I said after the Game that I was hoping that the flight Would be uh quicker Then it was on the way out and um it was Like Rolling in the Deep staying in Seattle for 3 days and sleep walking in Seattle and but it was a bit of a Journey back but we've done it and we've Trained well since and I expected a Difference you know uh certainly from The their players um you know it was Great to To you know show all the love to that Our supporters who came to was the open Training the day we want to do a few More of them there's a lot of young kids There and how much it means to to meet Their their players and their their Idols um you know and our job tomorrow Oh on Saturday now is to make sure that We turn up because the fans are Certainly turning Up you know last year you were talking About how you weren't used to a derby Match being 250 Mi away uh but bigger Country that's actually a smaller Distance um do you feel the Rivalry with
Atlanta given you know how many fans Travel down there the proximity that Does make it you know I I certainly felt It when I when we went to Atlanta um I Can't say I felt it too much at the home Game um you know I I thought the home Game was a typical home game for us with Our fans always being as noisy as Possible and giving us the support we Want but and I keep saying you know the These rivalries have to be organic you Can't manufacture rivalries otherwise it Doesn't work in my opinion um but yeah There there certainly one that's growing There because you know you saw the Numbers that oura our fans traveled with Last time because there's been a Historical non-sports rivalry just Between by being two of the bigger Cities in the Southeast in Atlanta has Been the leader of that but Charlotte You know has established to a point Where doesn't care about Atlanta anymore Because we pass him in banking and Things like that but with the fans There's definitely a a feeling there but Does that permeate in your thinking and And the question here is whether having A game of this importance to the fans And bragging rights and things like that Coming just two games into the season is Does it add any kind of pressure from Being this early or not not pressure I Mean if it's important to the fans then
It's important to us you know and you Know um that always gets passed on to us About what's important to our supporters And um you know and the players will Certainly be aware of that will be aware Of it whether it makes the game any more Pressure for for myself I have to say no Um because you know the pressure I put On myself is is big enough um you know So I'm look really looking forward to The game and hopefully we can get you Know a good enough performance to gets a Good result for our supporters cuz You're virtually a southerner now with All your time property oner so yeah one Of you All uh Mike and Nick D going back to Uh you were talking about them Pressuring if the pressure is up high The space is behind you also kind of Talked about you want your guys to be Better decision makers in that Decision-making process do they have to It's obviously got to be very quick but They are they also thinking about the Risk reward in that decision I mean high Risk High reward you know lower risk Definitely I mean I mean listen Football's soccer you know as you say is Is different to a lot of other sports It's quite random you know it's not like American football it's not like rugby in UK where a lot of it is setpiece
Routines it's fairly random and you're Making decisions like that so we have to Put the players in situations during Training where they're making better Decisions all the time the better Decision makers they become the better Players they become um so that's really Really key to what we we're trying to Work at the moment and you know if if There's a a team of 11 pressing in your Half then there's less space to play so Your technical ability has to be Spa on Your tactical awareness has to be spot On um you know but on the on the flip Side of it if you have oppos opposite Movements and you drag somebody in and The space is behind and somebody runs Into it when the balls aring you've got A good chance of scoring goals is that The the challenge though because in just About all sports you can't simulate game Yeah I mean situation see I I see in the World of football now it becomes a trend You know um A trend is to become a passing team and A possession based team but if the space Is the other side of the Opposition and no Defenders like nothing More nothing worse than running back Towards their own goal they want the Ball in front of them but because it's a Trend players think it's right to keep Playing in front of them when it's Actually the opposite and you have to
Coach players and talk to players about Reasons why they do it and during our Coaching sessions you know there's many A time well I'll say to Addy where do You where do you not want the ball to go Now and he's like well there okay well Why what what if we play it there well That's all right I can see it and I know There's no man in front of me you know So we have to be careful that we just Don't fall into that trap of following Trends and I See I've seen since I've come into the League there's a little bit of a trend Of wanting to play out or wanting to be A high pressing team but there's got to Be a reason to do that one is it your Roster or one is it the star player of Your Club Um you know so for me I've looked at at Roster when we've come in um I've got a Sty of play that I believe in um and it Can fit many systems of play um you know And last year I I think it worked we can Grow we need to evolve from that as well Though uh we need to keep the ball Better we need to look after the ball Better when we can um but we need to be Better decision makers at the end of the Day last one for me uh this game Originally was an eight game you got Moved afternoon Kick thoughts on a day game as opposed To a night game you which do you prefer
And I mean I prefer a night game Certainly the games under the lights at The banker are brilliant the atmosphere And everything but you know I'm used to It from the UK games being moved for for TV all the time you know sometimes we're Kicking off you know I remember local Derbies against Birmingham city kicking Off at 11:00 in the morning you know um Because they're worried about fan Troubles yet pubs still open at 8:00 in The morning for them you know um so yeah Uh it is what it is I'm I'm thankful to All the supporters who are going to come And and come to the game um you know we Appreciate them um and hopefully you Know we can both be showing each other The love you know um after the game and Uh you know if if your neighbors aren't Come in knock on the door and get them Here because we want as many of you as We can you can pass out beers in the Supporters line Glasses are red true that too yeah Yeah Dean when wil left where did you Feel the chemistry was with him and the Other players up front as he jumps back In yeah no his chemistry was getting There um you know I think top players You know adapt quickly to to other Players and uh you know his his Adaptation been been good um you know The fact that he's been away for five or Six days you know little bit of a
Concern but you know we'll see where he Is when he comes in today Nick in your Experience no same that yeah okay next In your experience as a manager when Your team does not go out and play like You expect what has been the most Effective for you to get them to respond I mean I I wasn't angry after the game I Was more disappointed um because you Know because of where our standards were And you know I could feel it during the Game that we weren't playing as well as We could have done Um but I I don't really like to talk After the game normally um I like to Think about things and and rationalize Why we've done certain things and then Talk about it rationally um but you know They got a few harsh words from me after The game uh that's normally enough to You know to get them ready um to get it Out of their system for for this game But as I said you know I have to give my Players a lot of credit as well because They showed a lot of resilience to come Back twice as well when they weren't Actually playing particularly well and On reflection and review their first Goal should have been disallowed for Offside um again I'm knocking on that Door of semi-automated offsides um Because it should have been given Morris's offside when he comes off to
Set the ball off before he goes and Scores and I feel that Patrick should Have had a penalty so you know I'm Always a big believer of momentum in Football as well um you know if they Don't get that goal their momentum Shifts if we get a penalty when I think We should momentum can shift so um you Know in my experience again it's to Rationalize things what does it say About the club that you you go play one Of the the better clubs in MLS you get a Two two draw for a team that's expected To do really well you didn't play well At all what does it say about the whole Club and what you've done in this last 14 months that we all have that Expectation that should have come out of There maybe with more well I've gone Gray now um I used to be red so you know There was a lot of rain in Seattle and That would have been like far in the Rain last week you know cuz uh I was Raging a little bit that's for sure but You know Um listen every club that we play and You look at the start we've been given And you'd say all four teams Seattle Atlanta Miami uh Cincinnati are going to Be four teams that are going to be Challenging for not just the conference Is it the conference Shield you call it Shi supporter Shield that's it support Shield um you you'd think after 14
Months i' know that wouldn't you um you Know fighting for supporter shield and Fighting for MLS cups and you know we Want to make sure that we're at that Table as well all right last one for me Um let's say you watching in the first Half and you notice the team's kind of Doing something similar how quick are You going to change what are you going To do to change and make the difference Well of I have made Subs in the first Half before and um substitutes so if That is what's needed then that that Would be the change um I didn't think it Was I didn't think the first half it Wasn't as bad as it felt and I think XG Was pretty similar in the first half I Think was something like 0.7 to 0.6 There wasn't too much between the two Teams they'd had a lot more possession Simply because we let them we got back Into our shape without actually going Putting pressure on the board But they never really had clear-cut Chances Dean going back to we you Mentioned your concern over his absence Obviously there's a physical aspect of That just getting you know situated but Also mentally coming off of you know Being now a new father as a manager and A father yourself what's the kind of Perspective you try to give to him going Into this game just after the birth of The
Child I mean my first child was 27 years Ago on Christmas Day and I kicked off The following day in a game at 11:00 So he was born at 1957 or 7:57 p.m. as you do it here you Don't use 24-hour clock do you and and We kicked off at 11:00 the next day and Um I kind of slep walk through that game Um I must admit but listen you go Through a lot of emotions um see Watching your wife give birth and um you Know but he's he's just on a plane he's Had a 8 Hour hopefully 7h hour sleep on The way here Um you know and he's in a right frame of Mind but we'll see that when we get There but I don't think knowing will as A do that there's going to be anything That puts him off playe in this game in Front of 50 odd thousand fans all right We're going to zoom in end in the room So Charles can you hear me yeah we got you Charles can't see you but can hear you a Follow up on wif you spoke when you Signed him about maybe him bringing a Bit of magic to to what you've already Built last season that little bit of Attacking spark with a little bit of Time spent with him now and seeing how He fits in the group do you still see it That way and how do you analyze what He's bringing to the side yeah I think He can he can produce bits of magic I
Think he's he's done that throughout his Career um I have no doubts that he would Come and do that here as well um you Know he's looking forward to it that's The big thing for me he's excited uh he Wants to play and he's an Entertainer he Wants to entertain 50 odd, thousand fans Um on Saturday so that I believe is Going to be his mentality um and we're Looking forward to having him Back Sam okay well Dean first I have to ask Did you really sleep walk through that Next game because uh if I recall Correctly Orient uh set a club record With an 8 Z Win no that's water under the bridge it Was um we actually played Cambridge United and lost one n the next day but Two days after that we beat donc cter Ro 8 n and I scored a Penalty I have the the players hate it Because I've got a photographic memory And if you get chance I can talk you for Every 72 of my goals as a Player U so so going back to the dad Energy um you know Brant brono had a Massive uh preseason uh I think him and A couple others were surprised he didn't Make the starting 11 Um can you talk us through that decision Yeah I mean um the way that Seattle play Uh I thought that you know there was it Was definitely worth playing with one
Six and 28 and by doing that I thought Having pep and um Eric Williamson in Really good pockets of space would cause Seattle problems um we never built up as Well as we could you know we we spoke Very uh quite a lot during the week of Getting the ball out to our fullbacks Who were low and giving it to the wide Players very quickly and their player Got booked after 54 seconds I think it Was newo and we just needed to keep Feeding K in the ball after that because I had no doubt in my mind that he would Have kept trying to kick him um you know Which would have meant a second yellow Card but we stopped doing that for some Reason but the reason was we I wanted You know uh some good technical players In In Pockets of space where I thought We could really hurt them listen Sometimes the game plan doesn't go how You want it to go and you know we Quickly changed that after 60 Minutes so you know what is uh brand Going to have to do to to get it back in Or stay in the uh in the starting 11 He's going to have to compete with three Or four other players um you know I Think you know there's been a lot of Talk recently about depth in squads I've Certainly got depin Squad um in Midfield I've got you know Nicholas petkovic was Playing games last season um you know We've got brand brono was playing games
Last season diani was playing games last Season didn't start the first game so I've got a number of players you know in In areas of the pitch now who who are Really pushing you know W comes back so All of a sudden you know kering was Playing a lot of games last season Leal Was playing a lot of games so now you Know all of a sudden there's not that Many concrete names on the team Sheet Which I think is important for us as a Club to evolve as as Well and F finally for me um staying on The same topic uh zaha a new dad Thankfully obviously brand uh it might Have taken a g game for you uh with Blade and Orient um what is there any Truth to the to the dad energy to um Being able to play a lot better after You've had a Kid I'm not sure there's there's a lot Of kids that are born to uh professional Footballs I'm not sure every one of them Players uh you know makes winning games After they become a parents but it Should give them a lot of energy that's For sure and cost them a lot of money Over the Years all right we'll do two more we do Jorge and then in with Carol Hey Dean uh you just touched on it A little bit you know in terms of uh the Depth in this squad um do you foresee Any more additions to this scene to this
Team in the near future yeah I as I say We're still in the in the market for a Left back and we're still working on That as we speak so uh hopefully we have We have somebody coming in pretty soon Um it's an area that you know we wanted To strengthen um you know I at the end Of last season Tim came in and we we we Brought him into play center back um you Know we the two games that he played Probably didn't give him Him and Addy did the best connection we Didn't play that well and then I think y Went away or got injured and we put him At left back and we never looked back From that I thought we we showed some of Our better performances after that um You know uh Xiao Pedro we allowed him to Go out on loan because I didn't think he Was going to be playing games this Season um he just hadn't showed shown Enough growth for me last season um that He was going to fulfill his potential And Y wanted to go so we we decided to Let him go so yeah the left back area is One that you know we certainly need some Some competition for Tim Now thank you Carol last one I know um Fans are excited to see zaha as a coach Are you excited like do you look at it Like you want you tell him you give him Freedom just to be himself or you do you Challenge him you know no no that There's always he has to become part of
The team first and foremost um you Know we've seen a number of DPS come in To the league over the years and for me The successful ones are always the ones Who become part of the team um and wolf Has shown all the traits of wanting to Do that since he's come here so I expect Him to to come in and show that the same Togetherness that the rest of the Players do I think he was watching the Game the Seattle game must have been 5 A.m. in UK so yeah I'm sure he was um Yeah and I listen we we we kept texting And you know we he said he said you look Unhappy at a point away from home and I Said I was and I gave him the reasons Why and he went yeah Understand all right thank you guys Thank you very much thank you