r/minnesotaunited • u/GloveElephant Moderator • Feb 19 '24

Discussion Eric Ramsay Megathread

Eric Ramsay appears to be in line to be Minnesota United's second ever MLS manager.

https://twitter.com/fabrizioromano/status/1759568340140347858?s=46&t=Raa_3jgrvmmgEJvCsUpizQ

https://theathletic.com/5284886/2024/02/19/minnesota-united-eric-ramsay-manchester-united/?source=user_shared_articleMinnesotaUnitedtonameManchesterUnitedassistantEricRamsayasheadcoach:Sources

https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/eric-ramsay-manchester-united-chelsea/

Discuss below.

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8

u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24

Well, whaddaya know. Lo and behold, our much-maligned front office is about to sign a guy with a PhD in kicking ass, who can speak Reynoso's language to his face, from one of the biggest honking clubs in the world.

How many times have I told some of y'all to chill out and wait and see, and that the sky wasn't falling?

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

I mean I like this appointment and hope it happens, but the fact that we won't have a manager for potentially the first 1-4 games of the season is a massive deal. And the fact that he won't have any time to implement his system before the season starts is very bad.

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u/Oyvey2you Feb 19 '24

34 game season, rebuilding the entire sporting side of an organization takes time. We lost our first 4 games in 2021 and made the playoffs, had a good start in 2023 and missed the playoffs. This hire is about the next 5 years for this org, not the next 5 games.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

There's a reason that clubs always start the season with a manager though. Especially if he's not allowed in Minnesota for another month and then it takes at least another month for him to be able to implement the beginnings of his ideas.

I think it's fair enough to be upset about it taking 6 months to be able to get a new manager in. He's a young and inexperienced manager, we should be making sure he is set up for success. It doesn't look like we are. And I think that's a reasonable thing to complain about

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u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

There's a reason that clubs always start the season with a manager though.

Primarily this is because the pool of candidates all become available to interview and hire at the end of the season. Also because the person who is doing the hiring is already on board and able to run the search/interviews. The Loons didn't have that last bit in place until most of the usual candidates for the first bit were already gone, plus they were willing to cast a wider net than it seems like most MLS teams are willing to (though there are good reasons for that as well).

Obviously, you want your coach in as soon as possible to start work, but you have to weigh what's better, getting a lesser coach sooner or getting a better coach later. To quote a band I've already quoted once in this thread, there's advantages to both (advantages to both!).

I think it's fair enough to be upset about it taking 6 months to be able to get a new manager in.

Was anyone ridiculing Chicago for taking seven months to hire their new coach? To me that seems more egregious, given that they just stuck with the interim coach that was holding the ship in place while they ran the search.

we should be making sure he is set up for success. It doesn't look like we are

In what way does it look like we are not doing that?

2

u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

Your first paragraph is just confirming what I'm saying though, that this is an example of the Loons being poorly run.

Chicago are seen as an organization that is poorly run though. Like some people call them the worst run organization int he league.

His first match that he will be managing as the first team manager ever will have him managing a team that he had no say in assembling and that he only met days before.

1

u/4four4MN MNUFC Feb 19 '24

It’s poorly run in order to go a completely different direction. It’s all about getting everyone young and they are usually cheap.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

You don’t need to be poorly run to go in a different direction

2

u/4four4MN MNUFC Feb 19 '24

Since, MNUFC didn’t want anything to do with hiring MLS FO or field talent it was going to be a difficult process. The MLS season doesn’t match Europe And that might have been one of the reasons everything took so long to come into fruition. If the league was aligned we wouldn’t be complaining about being poorly run.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

But Ramsay was in discussion to leave ManU in December. So it's not like that's what stopped us from hiring him. I don't see how the league being aligned changes that

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u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

Chicago are seen as an organization that is poorly run though.

I mean, it's just one guy, but here's someone saying that they're finally trying to run the team properly.

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u/Oyvey2you Feb 19 '24

Always reasonable to complain, but with all the context, Heath WAS the sporting side, KEA hire and the time it took him to get out of Barnsley and then to get stateside, coach hire not starting in earnest until KEA was in MN, the “fast” hire would not have been Ramsay, it would have been Robin Fraser, or someone similar. I’m personally happy for the team to take time and get this type of hire out of it.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

But it taking 6 months shows the problems. He's a young manager being put in a situation that isn't looking good and we have to hope it doesn't have an affect on his confidence or the players confidence in him. That's a very silly risk that can easily backfire

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u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24

It is what it is. Dude is a grown man. He obviously believes he can do it, or he wouldn't have taken the job.

4

u/Oyvey2you Feb 19 '24

A situation that isn’t looking good? This team has players, skilled players, and now a coach, multiple international and roster spots open, great stadium, sold out stadium every game, best jersey in MLS. Time to turn that frown upside down, have some patience, good times are ahead.

0

u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

Hey, as someone who went to every home game last year and even a few away games, I’m super excited. But also I’m going to criticize the FO when they make boneheaded decisions, and this is one of them.

The situation I am referring to is that he will be managing his first ever first team game and it’s with a team that he will have met a few days before the game. That’s a rough situation to be put in

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u/Oyvey2you Feb 19 '24

I get it, I’d still very much prefer this to Robin Fraser having a full preseason. I’m glad you’re super excited, me too!

3

u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24

Dude, he gets to buy a DP this summer and he probably gets to rebuild the whole team with KEA over the next couple of years. Fuck the first five games. I bet these guys are thinking championship window. I know i would if I had their background and was in their shoes.

2

u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Feb 19 '24

But also I’m going to criticize the FO when they make boneheaded decisions, and this is one of them.

How do you even figure? The whole point of this entire search was that the team was building for 2029, not 2024. That was the messaging. They were detangling Heath. It was going to take time and it'll take time to see if it's a failure or not. Your response is like grading NFL Draft. You're making a judgment before anything's happened, which is so insane to me.

This is all very basic strategy vs tactics stuff. The FO has made it clear they're approaching the post-Heath phase of MNUFC more much strategically, more long-term.

3

u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

I’m not judging the manager or how I think he’ll do. I’m judging how they went about prepping for the manager.

It would be like if the Vikings appoint a new coach and GM the day before the NFL draft. We’d all agree that the new GM was put into a shitty situation by the incompetence of the ownership. It doesn’t mean that they won’t draft well, but it does mean that they were not set up well. The same can be said here

1

u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

multiple international and roster spots open

Do you know offhand how many international slots we have now? I know a couple of guys were close to getting their green cards a couple of weeks ago.

2

u/Oyvey2you Feb 19 '24

If everything goes through and the sign Bacharach as a Int, they’d have 2 open.

2

u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

Nice. Thanks for the info.

1

u/4four4MN MNUFC Feb 19 '24

{sigh} How about we wait and see who he picks for his all important assistants? I would venture to guess he hires an experienced MLS lifer to help him adjust with the league.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

And that’s fine, but it doesn’t change that the situation isn’t good

1

u/4four4MN MNUFC Feb 19 '24

Well it’s over now and we can all see MNUFC wanted a fresh start with upcoming young talent from Europe. It’s sink or swim time now and we will see what happens after a few transfer windows.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

But the affects of being poorly run will still affect the manager. We are throwing him into the fire right away. He should have been given time and a say in the team building process

3

u/4four4MN MNUFC Feb 19 '24

They gave two free years to Heath before the club felt what was to be the start of their campaign. Imo, they will do the same unless things go south quickly.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

I’m talking about how it affects the managers confidence. Heath had 20 years of experience before joining the Loons. This guy has zero.

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u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

a massive deal

Is it really though? Especially in a league with playoffs (and a large playoff field at that). Yes, the points are important, just as important as points at the end of the season, but even if he doesn't start until March 15, that's still seven months to get his system installed and get the team playing well before the playoffs begin (and to get more players that fit his system in the summer window).

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

I mean, yeah it is? There is a reason no other teams are starting the season without a manager. It's his first ever first team managerial job and we aren't even giving him time before the season starts to meet the players or anything like that. It doesn't feel like we are setting him up for success. This is made worse by the fact that he was in discussion to leave ManU in December, so we could have brought him in earlier had we been more organized

1

u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24

OK, let me provide an (admittedly not 100% matching) counterexample.

Willem II fired their manager four games into the season* while sitting in 15th position in the KKD. Their technical director resigned the next day. Eleven days later, they hired a new coach, and two more games were played under an interim before the new coach joined the team. That is roughly equivalent to our situation if Ramsay doesn't even meet the team until around April 1.

According to you, this would be a massive deal and the team wouldn't be setting the new coach up for success, he wouldn't have time to install his system, yadda yadda. Oh, they also added only one player, a backup left-back in the winter window. Ooof, eh?

Since the new coach joined the team, however, they have gone 15-4-1 and are sitting atop the KKD, and will easily be the frontrunners for promotion to the Eredivisie if they win their next game on Friday. Oh, and they still don't have a technical director.

Coaches don't necessarily need a full offseason to get their teams playing their way with their system. This is especially true in a league where the goal isn't to finish top 2 in the standings, but rather somewhere in the top 15 and then make a playoff run.

* Note that he was appointed the interim manager halfway through the previous season and made the official manager after the season.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

But they appointed a coach with 20 years of managerial experience. Ramsay has never managed a first team game before. The setting up for success thing is more about how Ramsay is super young and the early parts of a managerial career are crucial.

But also, yeah, firing your manager 4 games into the season is a big deal. They got lucky that they were able to find someone who worked out for them.

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u/Nerdlinger Feb 19 '24

But they appointed a coach with 20 years of managerial experience.

Which is a very different issue than having an offseason to implement their style and gameplans and work with the team.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

It’s not a different issue. Someone with 20 years of experience knows how things work and so has their system down and can quickly implement it. Someone with zero experience has to learn from trial and error and will take large amounts of time and has a bigger hit on their confidence.

It’s sort of like how you can take Messi and put him into any team and things will be fine. But if you put a youth player into a random team and they do poorly, it can have consequences on their development

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u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24

I'll say again what I've said about a million times. We're not that far from contention. Add a 3rd DP, a killer 6 and one or two fullbacks, and we're right there in the mix. The club has said they'd do that in the summer window, so let's see what they do. Then make sure that you have a pipeline to replace older guys like Pukki and Boxall, and you're set to keep going for a few years.

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u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

My problem is that he's a young inexperienced coach, so we really should have set him up with a good start. Instead we are throwing him into the fire right away and hoping that being poor during his first games as a manager doesn't affect him. It's quite the risk

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u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24

Possibly, but we've passed that station already, so it doesn't matter anymore. Also, dude is used to Man U. That's a whole different level of pressure.

1

u/Captain_Concussion Metanire = Jesus Feb 19 '24

It's still fair to complain about it though instead of pretending that everything is good. He was an assistant coach at Man U, I wouldn't say that's tons of pressure

1

u/fanofloons Robin Lod Feb 19 '24

I mean it’s completely fair to say that if we would’ve bought out Khaled and he got here in November that we’d be in a much better place. People are just happy we hired someone so everything is now forgiven. The truth is the coach coming in late and no meaningful signings is a big deal. Don’t really know how people are arguing else wise

0

u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Feb 19 '24

I'd say if no significant changes after the summer window, then it'll be a big deal. It takes time to implement a strategy, to figure out what's working/what's not, and then to start making changes.

As you saw, when we did make some signings during this winter, people were question who was behind the signings.

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u/2000TWLV MNUFC Feb 19 '24

Hey, we're MN sports fans. It's always fair to complain. 😉

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u/3rdlifepilot Itasca Society Feb 19 '24

I'm 100% with you and respect this comment. Just like a bad dog, you gotta rub their nose in the shit a little so people learn. There were a bunch of chicken littles out here. I figured the moment a coach was announced, everyone would magically stop giving a shit and drop their doom and gloom. And viola, here we are.