Ashley Westwood speaks to the media for the first time as a Charlotte FC player. Discusses why Charlotte FC, how preseason has been so far, and wanting to build something special in Charlotte.
Hey Ashley I'm Carol Walton with the Charlotte Ledger nice to meet you nice To meet you Um how old are the kids first of all Tonight Boys one of each I'm a lucky man All right no more no more Getting to know the guys and how have You you know what kind of effort have You made to blend in like you have it's It's a unique group it's very similar to What Adam Burnley it's just a an easy Group to get along with the lads have Been the lads have been amazing And like I said that was the main thing With coming in in this window that it Was to they wanted me to have a good Preseason with the lads and we've worked Hard to I can't fault the led to the Professionalism the way they work the Way they train and the hard work we've Done so far this first week has been It's been incredible in the work that The staff have done it's for me it's uh The way the setup is here it's a proper Premier League club and it's it's Something the club should be very proud Of Uh two more quick ones if I might um one Is there any other player or someone That you went to to kind of vouch for Charlotte you know to find out more About Charlotte before you agreed to Come nope it was all there's uh we've
Got the wife's got a friend back in England who he was born and raised in Chicago And he looked at I think they looked There in England now they looked at Moving back to America and Charlotte it Was one of their places they wanted to Come so we did all the research and Everything that was said about Charlotte Was There was no negative so me and my wife It was it's a no-brainer with they spent Last week out here as well with me so The kids have the constantly at the Parks it's a it's just a good way of Life and it's it's one I'm really Looking forward to Awesome and one last one just we we've Seen a lot of highlights of these long Passes maybe you won't be doing that as Much as you're if you're pushing forward But is that something you practice like Can you hit a tire from 40 yards you Know or is that something that you wait Till the flow of the game and getting to Know the speed of your teammates I'm not Going to put pressure on myself what I Can um I'm not bad I'm not bad but But like City we've got a I will I will Be bringing that into the play here but Like I said it'll be the way we want to Play we want to dominate we want to Dominate teams and keep the ball and and Play higher up the pitch and create
Chances in the final third and that's What that's what we're looking to do and We've got a great Squad now that can it All fits together now I'm real I'm Honestly I'm really excited for the for The season Thanks Carol uh let's go to Alex and Then we'll go to Daniel after that Hi Ashley can you hear me okay yep yeah Okay here we go I'm in Um so I know that you said that you Didn't consult with uh I'm Alexander With the Charlotte Observer by the way Um I know that you said that you didn't Consult with any players or Um anyone like that when coming to Charlotte but it it is interesting to Draw the parallels between you and Christian Fuchs and obviously Christian Is going to be an assistant coach Um on the team this coming year so I Guess what do you know about Christian Um and uh are you excited to work with Him yeah obviously we've played against Each other many times we've got a we've Got a friend in common with a few Friends in common because obviously the Less the connections and that so like I Said it's It's since coming here I've spoke with Him and he's he's said all good things About Charlotte and obviously when a Premier league player moves over to the MLS you do as a premier player you look
Out for them players it's sort of like The the code of conduct to look after it Look look out for other pros and Like I said since being here he's he's Helped me settle down is but like I said Before it's I feel like I've been here I Feel like I've always been here the way The lads have taken two minutes I can't stress enough but I'm really Really excited for the season Thank you Thanks Alex Daniel and then Jorge you're On Deck Daniel we got you Yeah sorry about that that's my fault Right um hi Ashley nice to meet you Daniel long from The Daily Mirror here Hi Daniel Um just uh word on your former club now Um obviously you've left Burnley now but What do you expect of the Clarence going Forwards I mean convincing company Become a premier league manager I think that what from what is shown is They've been outstanding like since I Was watching obviously being injured and The way he's coming the training it's Yeah they're in they're in very good Hands put it that way and it's hopefully They finished the job off right and I Said it's the real test will be next Year but I'm sure they've got the They've got the management and the Players to to compete next year but it
Will be tough for him but like I said They're in they're in very good hands Not one of your former teammates as well Obviously without fake horse has Completed a move to Manchester United Over the past few days what was your Experience of him and what do you think He will offer man united this season Well to the to feet technically was it Was outstanding obviously it gives them That presence with the balls coming into The box he's shown in the World Cup he Actually texted me before I moved out Here so it was that was nice of him it's Like I said it's it's a great move for Him I'm sure the two goals in the World Cup would have would have helped him and I wish him all the success in the world It's a it's a fantastic opportunity for Him Brilliant thank you very much good luck To the rest of the season thank you Thanks Daniel Jorge Hey Ashley great to meet you Oregon Dallas for type in 90. Hi Mike okay Say that again you okay yep Yeah good good I thought she was more I'm not sure if uh someone's asked me This already Um what do you know about the MLS in General and uh maybe like what you're Expecting this link to be like While from what I've seen with with this
Group it's I think it's probably top Championship level that's what I that's What I've come to that's what I've been Told and that's what I expect the the Ladder Ultra professional the the fitness Levels are to a exceptional standard the Running we've done has been It's been harder than an English Pre-season so Christian's been putting This real places like I said it's it's a League that is it's grown massively in The last five years and like I said I Wanna I wanna be part of that and I want To be part of this the Charlotte team And We want to build something very special Here Nice and then speaking about building Something very special what do you Notice about this squad particularly I Know last year they ended well Being close to getting playoffs latonzio Yesterday mentioned that that's one of The goals to actually make playoffs and So what have you noticed about this Squad I think speaking to the lads that There's more of a togetherness here this Year like last year was tough everyone Was a it was a new year for the lads Like I said but now we've got a we've Got a good group a good Core Group That'll Little pull through is we're gonna have
Testing times every every team has Testing times and it's down to them Characters myself the the experienced Boys to to real drag the young Lads Through and that's what we're going to Create here we want to we want to create A a big togetherness one that fights for Each other week in week out and then Hopefully our little bit of ability will Shine through in the end All right thanks Jorge let's go to Antonio Hey Ashley I'd like to meet you Virtually Antonio Ramos here for a shot Of Cs managed radio I think Carol Recently asked you about those long Passing skills that you have what do you See in the page to find those passing Lanes when sometimes it's pretty hard Just to find those lines yeah it's more When teams are pressing High we've got You need that threat in behind to reel Back teams off and then that's when we Play so they said we've we've done a lot Of work on the what the work Christian's Done it's been It's been it's been phenomenal the the Way we want to press we've done Everything playing out from the back We've we've really had a good week and Laxative I can bring something a little Bit different to what what they've had Before and It's going to take time for me to get to
Know the players runs and that but once We're gives another few weeks and Hopefully we're a real Force Just a quick follow-up uh you played With Carlos Hill in Aston Villa have you Talked to him since he has had a Successful career in demos now for New England Revolution no no I've not spoke To him what he's been like I said he's We look out for players and I've watched His progress and he's he struggled a bit In England he did struggle but he's come Over here and he's been like I said he's Been exceptional you speak to the lads Who have who have played last year in The light years he's a top player so It'll be It's up to us to stop him in that in That game Thank you good to meet you thank you all Right thanks Tony guys we're gonna go Three more here um so we'll go to Michael and then John and then Jess will Finish the press conference So Michael All right hey Ashley nice to meet you I'm me Kyle from Charlotte HD Brazil How is it like working with latanjo and How did you first when did you first Find out you wanted to bring you to Charlotte So it was I can't think of it was it was A couple of months ago we uh we got in Contact and like I said it was the phone
Call I had with him from I knew he was He's been at England West Ham so I had a New friend yeah I've got a lot of Friends who who were in the England Squad at the time so I spoke to them and They said great things he's a real Football man he knows his stuff he's He's educated but he's not he's not only That he's a He's a family man as well and he gets he Gets she was a player he doesn't treat You as a play treat you as a as a as a Human being which is In football it's that that doesn't come Around too often with with that we get We get forgotten about as real people so It's It's nice he's he's a good all-rounder And like I said the the knowledge for The game is it's it was a big it was a Big help in me in me joining Charlotte Put it that way We'll have to see we'll have to see We've got some good we've got some good Technicians here so I need to hook my Game a bit I've taken a few over the Over the last week but it's I need to do Better put it that way All right thank you so much welcome Thank you thank you thank you John Uh Ashley Johnson nice to meet you Um just a couple of questions of you Mentioned that MLS is more on the radar
In England now so How much of Charlotte did you see and From what you saw what did you like Their game style just just the way they Went out there and competed what What Attracted you from what you could see of Them from last year The biggest attraction with the fans the We watched me and the wife and the kids Are watching YouTube videos of the of The funds and like I said the first game Was to get 75 000 was incredible and but Then the more you the more you dive into Into Charlotte and the whole the whole City it's uh it's a real good Community Yeah which I want to be part of and like I said the football the football side of It is like I said you've got Christian Here now and we had a The Lads of the Lads really brought into the his Philosophy and like I said it's a team That just missed out on playoffs if they Were I think the lad said if they got a Couple more draws or even one more win Then they would have made the playoffs And to do that in the first year is Is remarkable so this year now is a real Push to to do better and like I said With the with the full preseason with The manager it's it's something that we Should be aiming for And also you bring a lot of experience Playing at the highest levels in the top Two leagues and one of the best leagues
In the world in the championship and the Premier League this is a young team what Advice would you give them just the game Situations preparing post-match what do You think you can bring as far as your Experience goes I think we'll see in the Games out when we've been away from home I think the lads have been saying They're only losing by one one goal and It's that's something that I want to Bring not real like I said the group The Togetherness the the sort of know how How to get results and and have that Sort of we want we want to have a nasty Side of us we don't want to be we don't Want to be a walkover we want to we want To bring that It's going to say the English grit to The to the MLS and it's like I said it's It's about seeing games out just not not Going for it and getting beat again Counters and losing the game we need to Pick up more draws away from home and Like I said them them draws we want to Turn them into wins and not losses if That's that'll be the main aim Great best of luck this afternoon thank You thanks Sean all right Jess last last Ones with you here Absolutely always lovely to see another English person in Charlotte looking Forward to having another one added to The crew I've got me too See I'm not a tea drinker I know it's
Disappointing but I'm not um I want to Touch on the main And MLS so far and what you think may be Some of the challenges for your style of Play individually in adjusting to MLS From what I've seen it's very as guys Basketball type there's no real No real control from what I've seen at Them at the minute it's like end-to-end Stuff so I wanna we wanna be a team that Like a European team that controls the Temp with the game and plays in the Final third and and keeps keeps teams Pending so that's that's going to be the Main the main aim for this team is Is getting getting that and getting the Movements right and dominating Dominating possession not just being Being slacked with passes and giving Giving cheap balls away that's the That'll be the main the main aim for us Is Dominating possession and playing in the In the final third Thanks so much we'll see you soon thank You Jess all right thanks everyone Thanks Ashley appreciate it
The Best Places to Live in Charlotte, North Carolina
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The Best Places to Live in Charlotte, North Carolina
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