Call Up A Storm

Test failed, and badly.

Just remember, New Mexico United also scored first before shipping 6…

Pereyra is UP FOR IT tonight.

For the first time this season, #MNUFC faces a game where score-one-and-suffocate-them isn’t good enough. I’m looking forward to see how Ramsay sets up and how the team reacts when the final score matters.

The evil kermit the frog meme template with the text "Set it aside or footnote it if you really have to" over the good Kermit and "In text, full detail, add in data viz" under the evil Kermit.

Oh hey, I found kind of a neat thing that would probably be interesting to discuss — but not really germane to the overall piece…

Fair to wonder how many teams in the league could drum up a fee like this. All of them should be able to, but $20m is ~4.5x more than #MNUFC have ever paid for a player and like 2.5x more than they’ve spent in an entire window.

Atletico San Luis, the Loons’ third Leagues Cup opponent, gets the abbreviation ASL on the AppleTV score bug.

The only question I have is whether they should be exclusively referred to as Chat Room FC or just take the joke to its logical conclusion: Cybersex FC.

Wessel Speel got the start in Shelbourne’s Champions League second leg against Qarabag.

Shelbourne lost 1-0 on an own goal, but Speel made four saves including a second-half penalty, and seems to have acquitted himself well in his debut for the Irish side. #MNUFC

White text in a black box reading "Minnesota United currently has one designated player on their roster: Emanuel Reynoso. He is a left-footed attacking midfielder. Previously, they also had Teemu Pukki and Mender Garcia as designated players, but Pukki's contract ended and Garcia is no longer with the team."

Swing and a miss, AI summary. #MNUFC

After taking a long look at the top of the Western Conference and the games remaining for each team, I’m confident I would like #MNUFC to make a similar statement tomorrow.

Screenshot of a SofaScore stat sheet showing the Loons with 60% possession, an xG 1.7 points higher than St. Louis, a 2-0 lead in big chances, as well as more shots and more passes.

This is skewed by the red card, of course, but hard to argue the Loons didn’t deserve at least something from this second half:

On one hand, barely beating St. Louis isn’t great.

On the other, winning on the road, in the swamp, without two of your best players is a good result.

Onus seems to be on the FO to get the pieces necessary to get a better rotation. Like, before Leagues Cup starts on Wednesday…

#MNUFC

Yeboah gets far more power on his pens than it seems with his hop, skip run-up. Burki did everything right, but the ball was past him before he moved.

Not the worst half for the Loons this season, but among the bottom five for sure. If this is fatigue showing up, Leagues Cup is going to wreck the team. If it’s tactics, I hope Ramsay has a plan B in mind…

That penalty was so soft it’d give you back pain if you slept on it, but that’s what can happen when you let the opposition live in your box.

#MNUFC has played plenty of games this season where they look pinned back up until the moment they take a 1-0 lead, but few this sloppy.

St. Louis is bad, but they’re not dead, they’ll score if the Loons keep giving them chances.

From May 28 (0-0 at VAN) to July 16 (0-1 to LAFC) the Loons scored multiple goals in every meaningful game they played. Will be interesting tonight to see if they make it three in a row with 0 or 1, or if they get back to more consistent scoring. #MNUFC

Happy MLS Secondary Transfer Window Opening Day to my fellow sickos out there!

I’m celebrating by changing my homepage to the MLS roster rules and regulations page.

You?

Hard to overstate the negative impact this will have. It's an unmitigated disaster for northern teams, who will see both a decrease in season tickets and single-game gates; it decreases the likelihood someone will add MLS to existing soccer fandoms; and it puts MLS consistently up against NCAA/NFL

Since May 1, Anthony Markanich has more games with at least one goal or assist (8) than without (5).

Eh, slots can go fast. It’s never a bad thing to have one available and flexibility is prized in MLS front offices.

Rumor had it that Malmo offered just under $1.5m for SBJ and were rejected. Will be very interesting to see what St. Louis offered — Sang Bin’s recently acquired green card matters to STL in a way it definitely didn’t to Malmo. #MNUFC

That was the type of game the Loons needed to help reset the narrative around them. It was comprehensive, it didn’t require a bunch of last-ditch defending, it wasn’t merely feasting on a lesser opponent.

They knew they’d need to score to beat SJ and didn’t let up after they did. Great win.

Something to watch in tonight's #MNUFC game: San Jose has the most accurate crosses in the western conference, while no team in MLS has more clearances than the Loons do.

Last time out, Minnesota set a team record for clearances, and I expect something similar tonight.

Black background with a white text reading WE MARCH TO THE MATCH on top and JOIN US AND GET HYPE 6:30PM AT THE GIANT LOONS on the bottom. The middle section is a black and white picture from a previous march with marchers, smoke, and flags blowing in the wind.

We're bringing a double dose to energy to Allianz Field tonight, so join @redloons.bsky.social, @mndarkclouds.bsky.social, and TNE at 6:30pm to start building the noise and the hype!

Never been to a march before? It's easy: Get loud, walk to the stadium, keep up the energy.

See you there!

Still 30-odd minutes to go, but LA Galaxy beating Vancouver would be an extremely #MLSAfterDark result

<The wallets of Hamline-Midway whimper>

If the #USMNT is going to make anything like a satisfying run in the Gold Cup, changing the narrative around the team was the first step.

Really good start to that tonight. And I’m buying Luna and Agyemang as long-term contributors to the national team.

This incredibly young #USMNT side wasn’t likely to look good against two much more veteran teams, but this is much worse than I feared.