All Things MN United Season Thread

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RoseGoldy said:
He’s obviously talented enough to play in europe. He could really benefit playing with Rey and bongi
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I'm sure we're at best Plan B, but it'd still be great. If they can loan him to us for a season, I'd love to see him on the field. I think Heath has some respect in England, if we can become the learning ground for players getting ready to move to the premier league, I'd be okay with that. Give him a year of a lot of playing time here in MN that he wouldn't get riding the bench over there.
 

didn't see Sunday's game. 1-1 tie with the Sounders providing MN with an "own goal" to tie the match.

Bongi did not play with the injury and sounds like he was missed.

Loons now 2-2-7 in home matches.
 

Probably a fair result but disappointing to not get the home win. We needed the speed on the wing that bongi provides
 

Loons win a Home Game!

Loons top Colorado 3-0. Reynoso with 2 goals (one on a PK) and Pukki notches his first goal as a Loon. Dayne with the clean sheet. Tajouri-Shradi figured in two of the Loons' goals including a really pretty pass to set up Pukki.

Loons (I believe) back up to 7th place in the division and remain in playoff contention.

Bongi still out. not sure when he is expected to return.

Big match Saturday night - Loons at San Jose. San Jose is just behind the Loons in the standings.
 

It was a fun game - moved from my typical Wonder Wall seats to the 50 yard line - think I'll go back to the Wonder Wall though.

In the game, Taylor picked up his fifth yellow card so he's out for the next game. Heath should have pulled Taylor early as the ref had previously given him a warning as to fouls. I don't get why we play our starters so deep into a 3-0 game when we had a match last weekend and have another coming up this weekend. Should have put in the subs earlier and saved the starters for the San Jose game.
 


While I'm waiting for the Nebby game to start (watching this one at home), I found this...
... wondering who's going to start in place of Taylor for the next game.

  • Teemu Pukki (Finland) and Joseph Rosales (Honduras) are getting called up for internationals.
  • Dayne St. Clair remains with us as Canada has no games.
  • So that means Pukki and Rosales will be available vs. San Jose on Saturday (Taylor won't be available), but not vs. New England on Sept. 9 (Taylor will be available for that game).
 

Loons at San Jose was a "free" game on Apple TV+.

match ends in a 1-1 tie. Pukki with the goal on a pass from Reynoso.

Loons had another goal by Pukki disallowed for a hand-ball after VAR. I'm no soccer ref, but it looked very borderline to me.

both goalkeepers had some big moments - 5 saves for Dayne and San Jose keeper had 6 saves.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Loons at San Jose was a "free" game on Apple TV+.

match ends in a 1-1 tie. Pukki with the goal on a pass from Reynoso.

Loons had another goal by Pukki disallowed for a hand-ball after VAR. I'm no soccer ref, but it looked very borderline to me.

both goalkeepers had some big moments - 5 saves for Dayne and San Jose keeper had 6 saves.
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Glad to see pukki start to score consistently. It was a matter of time. Reynoso will continue to feed him the ball in dangerous spots.
 

Loons with another home draw. Fragapane scores tying goal late in stoppage time on an assist from Dayne St. Clair as the Loons brought the entire team into the attacking area.

next match vs Sporting KC on Saturday. could really use a win to shore up the playoff standings.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Loons with another home draw. Fragapane scores tying goal late in stoppage time on an assist from Dayne St. Clair as the Loons brought the entire team into the attacking area.

next match vs Sporting KC on Saturday. could really use a win to shore up the playoff standings.
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Some draw's feel like a loss and others like a win. Hard not to be excited after that finish. We need to get some home victories though to secure our playoff spot and hopefully get a home game to start
 


well, not looking good for the Loons.

after losing their last two matches, Loons are in 11th place in the West and currently out of the playoffs.

4 matches left in regular season - this Sat vs San Jose, and then matches in October vs LAFC, LA Galaxy, and Kansas City. the Loons have to win at least 2 of the remaining matches. draws will not do it.
 




Holy bleep. Loons are on FS1. Turned it on at halftime - Loons down 3-1 to LAFC. Then a couple minutes into the 2nd half, Loons give up an 'own goal' and now trail 4-1.

I'm not saying the team has quit - but they're not overwhelming me with their effort.

edit - it finished 5-1.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
Holy bleep. Loons are on FS1. Turned it on at halftime - Loons down 3-1 to LAFC. Then a couple minutes into the 2nd half, Loons give up an 'own goal' and now trail 4-1.

I'm not saying the team has quit - but they're not overwhelming me with their effort.
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They quit. The only good news from this season is that it's so bad there's no way they can keep Heath anymore.
 



here's the Strib version - at least the highlights:

Minnesota United has fired Adrian Heath, the only head coach it has ever had, and will replace him for the regular season's final two games, a source with knowledge of the matter said Friday morning.

Heath has been head coach since the Loons' inaugural 2017 season and has been the only Western Conference coach to lead his team to the playoffs each of the last four seasons.

Assistant coach Sean McAuley likely will serve as interim coach for the season's final two games. Technical director Mark Watson also has been fired, according to the source.

Heath's contract was set to run through the 2024 season.

The Loons are winless in their last seven games (0-4-3) after Wednesday's dispirited 5-1 loss at Los Angeles F. C. and have fallen to 12th in the West, three points below ninth-place Dallas and the final of nine playoff spots in the conference.

They are 9-12-1 in a MLS season when they also reached the quarterfinals of the new Leagues Cup midseason tournament.

They have two games remaining, Saturday at home against L.A. Galaxy and Oct. 21 at Sporting Kansas City.
 


well, quite a night for the Loons:

if you tried to watch the game on Apple TV+ - you couldn't because of this (from the Strib)

Minnesota United's final regular-season home game was not carried on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass coverage Saturday after Allianz Field in-house production staff picketed outside and struck seeking their first collectively bargained contract.

About 30 union members set up a picket line several hours before the night's kickoff against LA Galaxy. Workers who run cameras, replays, music and more wrote on X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter — on the account @MnufcUnion: "Today we strike. For seven months, we have bargained with MNUFC for our first contract. The team has repeatedly stalled and shown no interest in bargaining a fair deal. We feel we have not been taken seriously."

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and then there was the on-field action: (again from the Strib)

Minnesota United won for only the fourth time at home this season, and the first time for newly named interim coach Sean McAuley, in Saturday's 5-2 victory over LA Galaxy at Allianz Field.

The Loons did so on a night veteran striker Teemu Pukki scored four times, including a natural hat trick in which he scored right before halftime and then again in the 60th and 67th minutes after it.

The Loons arrived at Allianz Field on Saturday night knowing a victory would keep their playoff hopes flickering. A draw or loss would have eliminated them if one of several other scenarios occurred.
 

The Loons are trying the Everton system.

Everton the last few years has languished around the relegation zone until 4 games were left.

They would win 3 of 4 to end up in 16th or 17th place.
 

OK - in the "so you tell me there's a chance" department - from the Strib, what has to happen for the Loons to make the playoffs. Loons play at Sporting KC on Saturday.

The Loons will finish seventh and advance to Round One's best-of-three games series if:

They win and San Jose loses or ties against Austin FC, and FC Dallas loses or ties against L.A. Galaxy and Portland loses or ties against Houston.

The Loons will finish eighth and host the wild-card game against the ninth-seeded team if:

They win and San Jose loses or ties against Austin FC, and FC Dallas loses or ties against the Galaxy.

The Loons will finish ninth and play at the eighth-seeded team in the wild-card game if:

They win and San Jose loses or ties against Austin.

Or: They win and Dallas loses or ties against the Galaxy.

Or: They win and Portland loses or ties against Houston.

Tiebreakers

The first three tiebreakers are total wins, goal differential and total goals scored.

Portland has 11 wins but is minus-10 in goal differential. Dallas, San Jose and the Loons all have 10 wins.
 

Loons news - new guy hired to run team operations. one wrinkle - his current job runs through April - so that complicates things when trying to hire a new Head Coach for the Loons.

From the Strib:

Minnesota United on Wednesday hired Khaled El-Ahmad out of England's League One to be its Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer.

El-Ahmad, 42, has been CEO and Sporting Director for Barnsley Football Club in League One — England's third division — since 2021.

El-Ahmad will oversee all aspects of the club's sporting operations, including technical strategy and playing style, coaching hires and development, roster construction and management from its MLS first team to its MNUFC2 development team and youth academy.

he has agreed to join Minnesota United when his contract expires at Barnsley's 2023-24 season's end. That's in April.

"Mr. El-Ahmad will remain in his role until the end of his contract, unless there is a mutual termination once a suitable replacement is found."

He was born in Lebanon, raised in Sweden and played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee. El-Ahmad graduated from there in 2005 with a degree in business administration and was an assistant coach there as well.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Loons news - new guy hired to run team operations. one wrinkle - his current job runs through April - so that complicates things when trying to hire a new Head Coach for the Loons.

From the Strib:

Minnesota United on Wednesday hired Khaled El-Ahmad out of England's League One to be its Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer.

El-Ahmad, 42, has been CEO and Sporting Director for Barnsley Football Club in League One — England's third division — since 2021.

El-Ahmad will oversee all aspects of the club's sporting operations, including technical strategy and playing style, coaching hires and development, roster construction and management from its MLS first team to its MNUFC2 development team and youth academy.

he has agreed to join Minnesota United when his contract expires at Barnsley's 2023-24 season's end. That's in April.

"Mr. El-Ahmad will remain in his role until the end of his contract, unless there is a mutual termination once a suitable replacement is found."

He was born in Lebanon, raised in Sweden and played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee. El-Ahmad graduated from there in 2005 with a degree in business administration and was an assistant coach there as well.
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I've been following some of the X feeds from Barnsley fans, and they're breaking out the champagne that they've finally got rid of this guy. I mean, it's 100% a party over there - they really hated Khaled on every front: the people he hired, the food in the stadium, the "ponzi scheme" advertising deal he signed (no idea as to the details on that one), his communications with the press (that one gets repeated a lot, apparently the guy is terrible at communications). About the only comment close to being positive is "He likes to watch training with his kids all day". This has the looks of being a real disaster move for the Loons. This guy has zero respect in the soccer world...
 

Loons update - team to begin pre-season with interim coach still in place. from the Strib:

Minnesota United will begin its preseason next month the same way it ended the regular season in October, with longtime assistant Sean McAuley still as its interim coach.

McAuley coached last season's final two games — a 5-2 home victory over L.A. Galaxy and a 3-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Decision Day — after Adrian Heath was fired.

The decision to keep him as interim coach for now will give the team time for a proper search once new Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director Khaled El-Ahmad starts his new job in Minnesota and MLS after the holidays.

Players report to start preseason training in Blaine in early January, about the same time El-Ahmad begins. He leaves his current job for England's third-division Barnsley FC on Dec. 15 by mutual agreement.

McAuley will be starting his sixth season with Minnesota United after eight seasons before that as a MLS assistant with Orlando City and Portland.

He will be considered for the new coach if he chooses. assistant coaches Ian Fuller and Stewart Kerr will remain.
 

Not going to start a new thread for 2024, so this one will have to suffice. Reynoso has shown up. from the Strib

Star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso is in Minnesota and will join Minnesota United for preseason training in Arizona this week, the team said Sunday.

He must complete required medical and physical testing before he leaves for Tucson, the club announced on its social media accounts.

Reynoso didn't report for preseason training and the season's opening four months last season because of what he called a family matter involving his daughter. He was suspended by MLS for part of that time for failure to report.

He wasn't present in Blaine last week when the club opened preseason training last Monday.

The Loons began preseason training without a head coach, and new sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad is expected to fully start his new job this week. He will hire a new head coach after the only coach the club ever had, Adrian Heath, was fired near season's end in October.

Reynoso's teammates traveled to Tucson on Sunday and will train there until Feb. 1, playing two friendlies and an intrasquad scrimmage. The Loons will return home briefly before heading to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Coachella Valley Invitational in which they'll play three friendlies with USL Championship team Phoenix Rising and MLS clubs Chicago FC and Charlotte FC. Their MLS regular season starts Feb. 24 at Austin FC.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Not going to start a new thread for 2024, so this one will have to suffice. Reynoso has shown up. from the Strib

Star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso is in Minnesota and will join Minnesota United for preseason training in Arizona this week, the team said Sunday.

He must complete required medical and physical testing before he leaves for Tucson, the club announced on its social media accounts.

Reynoso didn't report for preseason training and the season's opening four months last season because of what he called a family matter involving his daughter. He was suspended by MLS for part of that time for failure to report.

He wasn't present in Blaine last week when the club opened preseason training last Monday.

The Loons began preseason training without a head coach, and new sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad is expected to fully start his new job this week. He will hire a new head coach after the only coach the club ever had, Adrian Heath, was fired near season's end in October.

Reynoso's teammates traveled to Tucson on Sunday and will train there until Feb. 1, playing two friendlies and an intrasquad scrimmage. The Loons will return home briefly before heading to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Coachella Valley Invitational in which they'll play three friendlies with USL Championship team Phoenix Rising and MLS clubs Chicago FC and Charlotte FC. Their MLS regular season starts Feb. 24 at Austin FC.
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Having Rey show up is solid news. This just shows how far this team has dropped, when having a player actually show up is news. In other news:
  • We still don't have a coach.
  • Our new "Chief of Soccer" hasn't shown up. He's still working on getting a work visa (they've had months to do that).
  • We let some of our bench players go (which is good).
  • We haven't signed any new significant players (which is bad), but there are a few rumors of some signings that could happen. (which is better I suppose than no rumors)
  • We're healthy again - specifically, Lod is back (which is great).
 

This offseason has been a s**tshow. How can we be in preseason without a head coach? This is unacceptable for a major professional sports team. I think we can still get out of this okay with the right hire and healthy squad with our DPs producing.
 

RoseGoldy said:
This offseason has been a s**tshow. How can we be in preseason without a head coach? This is unacceptable for a major professional sports team. I think we can still get out of this okay with the right hire and healthy squad with our DPs producing.
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This season is looking to be a disaster. Someone talk me back from the ledge. We fired our coach during last season and at this point just have a rumor of a new one. We did hire a new director, but he just showed up, Rey got hurt, and then hurt again. Bongi isn't even in the country yet. Our new Center Back from Sweden just got here (a week before the season starts) and hasn't even been practicing with the team, our preseason games were a big disappointment (3 goals scored in 4 games, two of which were against a USL team). There haven't been any big marquee signings, so basically we're going with the same lineup that finished near the bottom last year (except for the coach). About the only good news in the roster change is that Lod is back and Bristow is gone. Help me out here, give me some upbeat news...
 

Full Speed Ahead said:
This season is looking to be a disaster. Someone talk me back from the ledge. We fired our coach during last season and at this point just have a rumor of a new one. We did hire a new director, but he just showed up, Rey got hurt, and then hurt again. Bongi isn't even in the country yet. Our new Center Back from Sweden just got here (a week before the season starts) and hasn't even been practicing with the team, our preseason games were a big disappointment (3 goals scored in 4 games, two of which were against a USL team). There haven't been any big marquee signings, so basically we're going with the same lineup that finished near the bottom last year (except for the coach). About the only good news in the roster change is that Lod is back and Bristow is gone. Help me out here, give me some upbeat news...
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It seems like a very mismanaged offseason.
 

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