Born: 14 February 1992

Place of Birth: Shrewsbury, England

Previous Clubs: Swansea City (Lead PDP Coach) 2013-2017, Shrewsbury Town (Academy Manager/ First Team Assistant) 2017-2019 Chelsea (U23 Head Coach) 2019-2021 Manchester United (First Team Assistant) 2021-2024, Wales National Team(Assistant) 2023

Coaching Staff: Cameron Knowles (Assistant Coach) Dennis Lawrence (Assistant Coach)

The new MLS manager that I am most excited to watch this season is the new man in the dugout in Minnesota, Eric Ramsay. Ramsay arrives in Major League Soccer as the youngest permanent head coach in league history. Although he is young, his resume speaks for himself, and I am very excited to see what he accomplishes in his tenure with the Loons.

One of the most important things when it comes to hiring a manager, is their previous work experience. Most managers start their careers out as youth coaches, and then subsequently progress up the ladder to first team management. Understanding the nuances in the developmental pathway between academy and first team football allows for a coach to develop both the most senior level players, and younger academy players getting their first experiences training and playing in a first team environment. Ramsay has had that experience, with working in the Shrewsbury Town academy, to being involved with Cristiano Ronaldo and the first team group at Manchester United. Prior to his roles with Manchester United and Shrewsbury Town, Ramsay had spent the entirety of his career at the youth level. He is widely considered to be the players coach. In his introductory press conference, Ramsay stated this about the opportunity to come work with Minnesota United, “"... And I think from a head coach's perspective you want that very stable environment to work in,". Ramsay continues by saying, ""I want to work with a team, I want to work with the players, I want to do what I'm good at, what I've done up until this point with that added leadership element. So, I look at this particular club as absolutely perfect in that sense."“

After a few matches into the season, it is evident that the Eric Ramsay led Minnesota United is a different football team compared to the team they were under Adrian Heath. Statistically, the 2024 Loons have a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, with 8 goals for them and 6 goals against. The 2023 edition of Minnesota United saw the club finishing with a record of 10 wins, 11 draws and 13 losses, 46 goals for and 51 goals against.

Tactically, there isnt much to base Ramsay’s system off of, because he has only been in charge of 2 MLS matches and 1 international friendly. In his debut match against LAFC, where he recorded a 2-0 win, he lined up in a 4-2-3-1.

(Minnesota Starting Lineup vs LAFC)

The first goal in this match was scored by Robin Lod, who lined up in the match versus LAFC in the number 10 (attacking midfielder) role, supporting his fellow countryman, Teemu Pukki. Pukki was subsituted by South African striker, Bongokuhle Hlongwane in the 70th minute of the match, who scored the goal to seal the deal. In this match, Minnesota utilized their defensive midfield pairing of Wil Trapp and Hasani Dotson as a double pivot in order to push their transition moments higher up the pitch, and allowing for their offensive unit to work into the LAFC midfield and create opportunities to penetrate the LAFC backline to find opportunities to score.

(Minnesota Starting Lineup vs Philadelphia Union)

The Loons match against Philadelphia proved to be much more difficult than their contest versus LAFC. Jim Curtin lined his men up in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, and ran his offense by creating opportunities for attack starting in the midfield. Because Ramsay chose to line up his side in a 4-3-3 formation, and played Robin Lod in central midfield on the right side, rather than the attacking midfield position that has favored him to be such a dangerous playmaker. Club captain Wil Trapp lined up as the central midfielder, even though he excels in the number 6 (defensive midfielder) position. The Loons struggled to connect in transition from defensive moments to potential attacking opportunities.

After Ramsay’s two MLS league matches in charge of Minnesota United, one of the things that I notice most about him is adaptability. In a world where most managers rely on one or two tactical systems to solve their problems, Ramsay is willing to adapt to the strengths of his players and capitolize on the weaknesses of their opponents. The Minnesota United roster is full of talent, and Ramsay is using that talent in a different way then during Adrian Heath’s tenure in St Paul. Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod have played together previously for HJK, and have cemented themselves as regular starters in the Finnish National Team’s attack (Go Huuhkajat!) I think that Ramsay is going to find how important it is to utilize them together, plus other MNUFC longtime players like Michael Boxall and Wil Trapp. Additionally, I am excited to see how Ramsay plays a part in the development of new Loon, Caden Clark. Because this is Clark’s first real experience outside of the Red Bull “Energy Drink” Soccer ecosystem, I am excited to see what he will do under a new manager, and especially a manager who’s expertise lies in the fields of talent development.

I think that the Eric Ramsay era in Minnesota is one that should be looked forward to with much anticipation and excitement. He’s a young, ambitious coach with high career goals and desires, and wants to make an immediate impact where he is planted. Minnesota United sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad wanted to hire Ramsay while he was running Barnsley FC in England. I’m going to be watching Ramsay and the Loons of Minnesota very closely the rest of the season.

Hopefully you enjoyed this series on the 3 MLS managers that I am most looking forward to watching this season! I enjoyed writing this, and I look forward to continuing to occasionally writing more about coaches and their tactics, and their leadership styles.

The goal is to post 4 articles per month, or one per week. I’ll write on various topics within the football industry, such as coach analysis, tactical analysis, match analysis, football analytics and more. If you have anything that you think I should write about, please feel free to reach out to me through my various links!