A funky season for Minnesota ended with Decision Day disappointment and their first season without a playoff game since 2018.
Emanuel Reynoso’s absence for the first few months of the season marred the campaign, as did injuries. Then, with two games left, the club let go of head coach Adrian Heath, the only manager this club has known in their MLS days.
The short version: Heath meant so much to this club. Where does it go now?
GO DEEPER
Minnesota United has its first chance at reinvention
State of the roster
Head coach: Sean McAuley (Interim, since 2023)
Chief Soccer Officer: Manny Lagos (2016)
The good
Minnesota has built their attacking identity around Reynoso to maximize his impact on the game, as they should. He’s one of the best chance creators in the league and he nearly led them to MLS Cup in 2020 with a magical postseason run that fell just short in the conference final.
Teemu Pukki scored 10 goals in just over 1,000 MLS minutes, finally solving the club’s long-standing need of a proven goalscorer up top. There’s no reason to expect less than 15 goals next season if he and Reynoso are fit.
Forward Bongi Hlongwane took a leap this year. Midfielder Robin Lod is criminally underrated and his injury was probably the difference for this club missing the playoffs. With that quartet right there, it’s a strong and balanced attack.
At his best, goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair is capable of winning points on his own, though he struggled a bit with consistency this year. Still, he’s a solid MLS goalkeeper on a reasonable contract. Mexican center back Miguel Tapias was an immediate starter, a much-needed injection of youth into the defense.
The bad
Well, Reynoso missed the first 16 games of the season because of a personal situation he was dealing with in his native Argentina. That wasn’t ideal.
The Loons and left back Kemar Lawrence mutually agreed to a contract termination in the summer, one of the constant problems at fullback that plagued the squad towards the end of the season. Designated player Mender Garcia, a forward, played just 1,029 MLS minutes and scored just three goals. He can be bought down off DP level, though.
Exacerbated by Lod’s injury, Minnesota struggled mightily to find a reliable creator behind Reynoso (when he showed up). That will continue to be an issue moving forward, as is attacking balance. Defense-minded midfielders Hassani Dotson and Joseph Rosales played the most minutes as de facto “wingers”.
What could change
The cap sheet looks relatively clean, with few obvious bad contracts on the club’s books. That should help with the likelihood of buying down Garcia’s cap hold to free up another DP spot, though that acquisition would have to be a young DP in order to preserve all three U-22 initiative slots.
Midfielder Wil Trapp, the team’s fourth-highest earner, is out of contract. Veteran defender Michael Boxall has a contract option for 2024.
Minnesota should have plenty of space to make change under the new regime. First, they need to land on a new chief soccer officer (Heath didn’t technically have that title, but come on, he effectively had that title). Manny Lagos is technically the CSO but the plan is to bring in a new GM, then a new head coach.
The infrastructure
Minnesota isn’t among the most high-spending clubs in the league, but they’re not at the bottom, either. They seem to line up decent money for transfer fees every year. They just need to spend it a bit more efficiently – Reynoso has been a home run and Pukki a strong start, and Jan Gregus plus Darwin Quintero were good in their times as well, but the likes of Angelo Rodriguez, Adrien Hunou, Luis Amarilla and Thomas Chacon were not. No team will bat perfect here, but if Minnesota hits on their third DP this year, this team isn’t far away from being a contender.
Allianz Field is a great stadium offering one of the better home field advantages in MLS. The academy, unfortunately, has probably been the least productive in the league.
Offseason priorities
CSO decision, head coach search
As always, these two go in tandem. Heath and Mark Watson controlled the sporting structure over the last few years so the club will need a new chief soccer officer, whether that remains Manny Lagos or an external hire is the first domino.
Then, Minnesota must hire only the second head coach in their MLS existence.
Heath did a lot of good things at the helm, including a sustained run of qualifying for the playoffs and more or less always being competitive. That’s not a low bar to be taken for granted, but Minnesota clearly felt the need to move on to try and take the next step.
Make a decision on Reynoso
Since Reynoso returned from going AWOL and missing half the season, he’s been quite good. Not quite at his peak, but certainly good enough. Can Minnesota rely on him over the next few years, though? Or should the club try to take the solid half-season to recoup whatever value he has and move on?
Finding an answer is extremely tricky and nuanced. It’s also not the most important part of this equation, with Reynoso’s family and personal life more important than work, but from a club perspective, it’s a decision that needs to be made. Needless to say, it’s a big one.
Add new fullbacks and another attacker
By the end of the season, Minnesota’s need for a starting-caliber left back was glaring. Summer signing Ethan Bristow was too much of a defensive liability to be relied on in crunch time. They may need another option at right back to challenge D.J. Taylor as well.
The good news is they’re not searching for yet another new DP No. 9 this winter as Pukki is the answer (for now, at least). If they’re to cash in that DP spot, either a goal-dangerous winger or a dominant central midfielder would make a lot of sense.
(Top photos: Getty Images)