What the heck is wrong with the Tampa Bay Rowdies?

The 50th Anniversary campaign is turning into one of the worst in the club's decorated history... we attempt to break down what the heck has happened

AUTHORS NOTE: This piece has also been run at the Southeast Soccer Report

Since 2011, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have been among the elite teams in second division professional soccer in the United States. As someone who worked as the Communications Director of the NASL (Tampa Bay’s league from 2011 to 2016) and has since covered the lower division scene to me the Rowdies have always been the flagship club of Florida soccer and among the lower divisions of US soccer.

The Rowdies whose lineage traces back to 1975 have been among the “brand names” in all of American soccer. This season was supposed to be a celebration of that heritage, success and trophy hauls. Instead it’s turning into a nightmare.

So far this season the Rowdies seem not only off the pace, but increasingly uncompetitive. Just ten months ago, in July 2024, the club was within a few points of the overall lead in the Players Shield race within the USL Championship. Now they sit rock bottom in the table while having been bounced out of the US Open Cup in embarrassing fashion.

The Rowdies performance against Orlando City in a 0-5 loss on Wednesday looked worse on the eye than many matches I’ve seen where professional teams play amateur teams in competitive matches (this is NOT hyperbole. I am totally serious) - so pathetic was that performance, it felt like the Rowdies had to do better Saturday versus Charleston. But they did not. In fact the first 30 minutes were arguably worse than any stanza during Orlando City match.

Just over a month ago, Tampa Bay could rightly have felt hard done in a 2-1 loss at Charleston - a match which was Robbie Neilson’s final as Rowdies manager. A farcical penalty call on Blake Bodily was the difference that day at Patriots Point. Head Coach Robbie Neilson lost his job after that match which was largely even outside of the dodgy penalty.

Whatever the circumstances of Neilson’s sacking, it must be said the Rowdies have looked for much of the time since, a shattered and rather disinterested side. In addition to being an injury-prone squad whose fitness even in matches often looks decidedly second-best.

Neilson was sacked after the Rowdies 2024 season ended in a playoff loss to Charleston where Tampa Bay was the better team for much of the match and a four match road trip in 2025 where the Rowdies lost three of the four matches.

Could Neilson be blamed for taking a team that was one match away from the 2023 Players Shield under Nicky Law and leaving them as a squad that was a solid playoff team but little more? Perhaps, especially when you consider the chance creation from the Rowdies last season was probably the best in the USL Championship, yet they fell away toward the end of the campaign (part of this had to do with being hit by two Hurricanes, but the decline started in August before Hurricanes Helene and Milton).

Since Neilson was sacked, Tampa Bay have played seven matches in all competitions, six of them at home and have a grand total of three draws (one in the league and two in cup matches, one of which was against a USL L1 side) . Perhaps we now have ample evidence that the squad itself is more the problem than any coaching or tactical issues under Neilson. And quite frankly they are creating fewer and fewer opportunities to score, looking increasingly a tired and spent force.

It’s hard to blame the Interim Manager Steve Coleman who seems to be trying different things with this squad. Injuries happen but having ample cover and tactical flexibility is the key. This squad (which I must admit I picked to finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference and expected to make a run in the playoffs) has apparently not been built properly.

• Lewis Hilton remains injured and I believe a midfield trio of Hilton with Cammy MacPherson and Danny Crisostomo would be among the most formidable in the USL Championship. But outside of that, even a fully fit Rowdies squad has too many questions marks I will address below. One knock I have on Neilson from a year ago is Hilton was asked to do too much in his system, which may have led to his breakdown this season.

• Leo Fernandes is among the greatest players in Rowdies history, but he’s being asked to do way too much now - coming off two injury-riddled seasons. I just don’t think he still has the legs or fitness levels to spur this side on.

• Woobens Pacius has been a revelation at times and the one Rowdies player that seems to be able to create on his own and score from tight angles. Pacifique Niyongabire is a hit-or-miss player that often has little end product in the final third. But increasingly it feels the Rowdies have had to rely on his pace and one-on-one play to create chances since Neilson’s sacking. This is NOT how the Rowdies created the bulk of their chances last season.

• Manuel Arteaga does not appear capable of the leading-the-line in a 4-4-2 or in a situation where he doesn’t have a complimentary partner like Cal Jennings a season ago. I thought Robbie Nielson’s idea of a front 3 of Ollie Bassett, Arteaga and Pacius was right - though it leaves the club with little cover outside of 17-year old Endri Mustali.

• It’s hard to start wanting to ride a 17-year old, but Mustali quite frankly has shown me more in his late match appearances the last month than Arteaga has starting in any match this season.

• it’s pretty clear the 4-4-2 does not work with this personnel who likely were signed to play in a 3-4-3 or similar formation. Aaron Guilen has been a great servant for the club but cannot play leftback. Playing Blake Bodily in a four-man back line is a waste of one of the best attacking wide players in the USL Championship. So you either should start Joey Skinner or revert to three-at-the-back.

• Nick Moon has dressed for the last few matches but has yet to get a run out - the first half injury on Saturday to Niyogabirie (who is not a right back) did not lead to Moon’s insertion which makes me wonder if he is still nursing an injury himself. I have been wanting to see young Nate Worth to get more playing time, but he was lousy on Saturday, though no worse than anyone else in Rowdies first XI outside of Bassett who I thought was quite good.

• On the subject of Moon, he and Hilton have been dressed the last several matches but have not played - which indicates they are still injured, yet are in the 18. This makes little sense.

• The back-line is a mess and the decision to start Laurence Wyke ahead of Robert Castellanos against Charleston proved disastrous. Again maybe reverting a three-man backline helps solve some of this. Wyke has at times this season been undisciplined and often put his club in bad positions.

• The Rowdies have had an uncanny knack of bad giveaways in their own third this season and some ill-tempered defensive play. With thinning margins due to less chance creation this season than last, this has had a huge impact.

In summary, this Rowdies side is alarmingly poor at the moment. And this is especially striking since the Rowdies have arguably been the best club in the USL Championship over the previous five seasons with the exception of LouCity and Sacramento (although like both those clubs, they have not won a title in that period, but the playoffs are a crapshoot so I don’t obsesses over those results- I look at consistency). A turnaround will come in some manner because quite frankly, Tampa Bay cannot possibly get any worse than they are at the moment. And the USL Championship’s format is forgiving - just ask Phoenix or Colorado Springs how a terrible start can end in a title run. But this Rowdies team seems to be missing more than those squads were, so while I could still see this squad sneaking into the postseason, the salad days of this Rowdies squad appear done.