Westwood mulls retirement

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Charlotte FC’s season is winding down, and so is the career of captain Ashley Westwood. The 36-year-old skipper is playing his fourth season for Charlotte FC in the final year of his contract. The club has an option for 2027, but ultimately the decision about what happens next comes down to him.

The way the affable Englishman has been talking this week, that decision is coming into focus.

Westwood invited his wife, two children and extended family to travel to Miami for Saturday’s regular season finale against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, aptly called “Decision Day.” Westwood’s father Kevin, his wife Becca’s parents and his niece all made the trip from England to be there Saturday. And no, it wasn’t to see Messi. What it means, exactly, Westwood isn’t ready to say, but he hints that news is coming.

When asked why his family was coming from England for the Miami game, Westwood said: “I think it was going to be my last game, but who knows? We made the playoffs, so...”

Westwood didn’t complete the thought. He has been using a lot of “We’ll see’s” and “I don’t know yet’s” in public responses to questions about potential retirement this week, so we are left to read between the lines. Here are some of the hints he dropped in a 20-minute conversation with The Ledger on Wednesday:

Westwood said he spoke with Coach Dean Smith and Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta about his future before the season started but admitted that what he laid out that day has shifted.

“My mind's been changed a few times,” Westwood said. “It goes with retiring. It goes with playing. It constantly changes, but I think once the playoffs are done, or even if things happen before that, then the decision will be made very soon.”

How soon?

“I'm sure I'll speak to Zoran and the gaffer, so we'll see,” he said.

Then Westwood added: “The sprint season looks nice.”

The “sprint” season is the 14-game season plus playoffs next February to May that Major League Soccer is using to transition to a global summer-to-spring schedule. It might be somewhat of an afterthought for fans, an intriguing chance at an MLS Cup for clubs. For Westwood, it would be a good compromise. He said he feels tugged between being available to his family on weekends for the first time since he began his senior soccer career at 19 and gunning for a trophy, while helping Charlotte bridge the gap to a new schedule.

Beyond that, Westwood doesn’t sound like a man interested in signing a new contract or trying to play until he’s 40.

“I’ve always said, ‘Go out being loved,’” Westwood said. “I also want to go out on my terms. I’ve been in a situation where an injury finished me, and I never played for Burnley again, so I don’t want that here. I want to go out with my stock held high.”

Westwood has three goals and 11 assists this season, giving him career highs in both assists and goal contributions (14). He’s been nursing a calf muscle injury for the last three weeks but has played through it while Smith manages his late-game minutes. And Westwood is still third on the club in minutes played behind goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (2,970) and Pep Biel (2,898).

Westwood took two days off from practice to rest this week and said his calf is the best it’s felt since he injured it after the team’s open practice in front of fans at the Matthews Sportsplex on Oct. 21.

In a way, Westwood has been playing on borrowed time. Or as Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Greg Maddux used to say “extra credit.” He suffered a gruesome ankle injury in April of 2022 with Burnley FC in the final of his 10 seasons in the English Premier League. During a difficult phase of rehab, he decided he would retire and take an insurance payout. But ultimately Westwood, encouraged by his wife and two children, decided to take a chance on an American adventure.

“I always thought of going to Miami with David Beckham, and that would be the ideal scenario,” said Westwood, who’d talked about it over the years with his wife, Becca. “We did sort of manifest it, but we never manifested Charlotte. And fortunately, we had a friend in common with Zoran, and my friend reached out and said he'd be interested. I think Zoran did his background checks. Next thing you know, I'm here at the courtside of the Hornets, walking around the Bank of America and seeing the city. It's been the perfect fit…”

“I took the risk of coming here, and it's extended my career. I think it's the happiest I've been in football.”

Happiest, Westwood explains, because of how athletes are so positively received in the U.S. and in Charlotte, compared to some of the negativity “footballers” face in the U.K.

“There can be a lot of jealousy in England,” he said. “It's the best league in the world, but it’s also the toughest league in the world.”

Westwood said practices for Charlotte FC are hard – he jokes that he and 34-year-old Nathan Byrne “are the biggest moaners” – but the games are fun.

“I still get excited about it,” he said. “The most important thing is the body feels good. I still like to hope I'm performing on a weekend. And when I don't feel like I can do that, then that'll be the day I call it.”

After his playing career ends, Westwood has said he wants to stay in Charlotte, where he’s bought a home, his children are in school and he loves the weather. While his family has been in town visiting this week, he’s taken them to visit Grandfather Mountain.

Westwood has made no secret of what he’d like to do next and that’s help Charlotte FC’s player development by coaching in the Academy and/or Next Pro ranks.

“Charlotte's home,” he said. “We've been looking in the mountains for a place. We love it up there. So yeah, hopefully the club want me in the future. I put myself out there. I want to stay. I want to help the club continue to build and do things the right way. If there's a job at the end of it, hopefully there is, but if not, it means more time for golf.”

It’s not the “Decision Day” drama of 2023, when Charlotte FC had to beat Miami on the last day of the regular season to make the MLS playoffs for the first time, but there’s still plenty on the line when the club takes on Messi and company Saturday at 4 p.m. at Nu Stadium.

Charlotte FC, which has qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, is playing for a chance to finish in the Top 4 of the Eastern Conference and secure home-field advantage for the second straight year.

No. 5 Charlotte trails No. 4 Chicago Fire by two points, 55-53, so to move ahead in the standings, Charlotte has to win against Miami and the Fire have to lose or draw Saturday at home against Columbus. Win or lose, though, Charlotte is slated to match up against Chicago in the best-of-three first-round series. The only question will be which team gets to host the first game and a potential decisive third game.

Charlotte FC has gotten a result in its past two matches against Miami, both at Bank of America Stadium: a 0-0 draw on March 14 (for one point) and then Idan Toklomati’s hat trick game in a 3-0 win last Sept. 13. The challenge this time is Charlotte has to do it on the road, in its first trip to the newly opened Nu Stadium, and without Allan Saint-Maximin. The star winger was shown a red card for an obscene gesture he made toward Orlando midfielder Wilder Cartagena in the 89th minute of Charlotte’s 4-0 win over Orlando last Saturday.

“Any team that loses a DP it should be impactful because that's what the DP status is, but it gives an opportunity for others,” Smith said. “We missed him against Portland (Oct. 24) where he didn't travel (for an illness). We still went there and scored two goals. So there’s goals within the team.”

Charlotte FC has set a club record for goals in a season with 63, which ranks fifth this year in MLS.

Saturday’s reaction by Saint-Maximin was a flashback to some of the Wilfried Zaha antics that drew costly cards and ultimately a suspension in the home opener of last year’s first-round playoffs, which Charlotte lost in three games to Orlando. The good news for silver-lining seekers is that since Saint-Maximin won’t be playing in Miami, he won’t have any reason to miss the playoff opener.

Smith, known for being a players’ manager, proved it again on Monday. He told assembled local media that Saint-Maximin had told him what Cartagena said to him during the exchange and that “I’d probably have chinned him, if he had said that to me.” (Chin as in punch him in the chin.)

Smith questioned why a red card was given to begin with, suggesting a fine would have been more appropriate. Smith pointed out that until the red card was given only two people even saw the gesture — Cartagena and the Video Assistant Referee. It ultimately made the rounds on social media and the internet.

After a bye week for an international break, the MLS playoffs will start with wildcard games on Nov. 19 and first-round action beginning Nov. 20. The playoff schedule won’t be finalized until after Saturday’s results, but MLS released date ranges. Here’s how it will look for the first-round, best-of-three series:

* Both the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears have home games on Sunday, Nov. 22 meaning Charlotte’s matchup against the Fire will be on a weekday. Both teams share stadiums with their NFL counterparts.

When/Where: 4 p.m. Saturday, Nu Stadium, Miami, Fla.

How to watch: Apple TV, Tubi. Find information about how to subscribe here.

How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.

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Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fifth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!