Charlotte FC Announce Dean Smith As Next Manager
Charlotte FC have named Dean Smith their 3rd manager in club history. The Englishman joins Charlotte FC after a managerial career in which he has lead the likes of; Walsall FC, Brentford FC, Aston Villa FC, Norwich City FC, and Leicester City FC. During his tenure he has been able to manage at some of the highest levels of club soccer within the English Premier League, EFL Championship, and EFL League One.
In Smith’s first ever experience as a manager, he took over at Walsall FC as a caretaker manager in hopes to save them from being relegated from the EFL League One. Smith did save Walsall’s season and did avoid relegation into the English 4th division. He would continue on as manager of Walsall FC for another four and a half seasons, in that time making the Football League Trophy final. Smith would then go on to get hired by Brentford FC midseason and finish mid-table in the EFL Championship that season. He would get another two and a half seasons in charge of Brentford before being appointed manager of another EFL Championship side, Aston Villa. He was given the responsibility to stop the slide of Aston Villa and getting them back to the Premier League… and he did that. After taking over Villa in 15th place in the Championship, Smith would push the club into a playoff spot where he would win those playoffs and earn a spot for Villa back into the Premiership.
Smith would then begin his run as a manager in the English Premier League managing two and a half more seasons with Aston Villa. Dean Smith would eventually part ways with Villa during the 2021/2022 season but be immediately hired by Norwich City FC in hopes to have him save their season and not be relegated into the EFL Championship. Unfortunately, Smith and Norwich could not complete that task and they would enter the 2022/2023 season in the second division. Smith managed 24 games in the Championship for Norwich before getting another chance at managing in the Premier League once again. He would leave to head for Leicester City hoping to cling to their slim chances of not being relegated. Unfortunately, once again, Smith would be the leader of a side that was relegated out of the top division of English soccer.
Now with 543 games managed under his journey across England (122 of those games in the English Premier League), Smith heads abroad for the first time to bring his attractive style of play to the United States. I like the hiring and if done correctly, could lead to a longterm cultural change for Charlotte FC. But this front office needs to give Smith time. Give him time to understand MLS, understand the roster rules, create his team, recruit his players, and implement his style. This is not going to be an immediate success in 2024, but you hope the beginnings of something are starting to be seen.
