How This Young Welsh Coach is Taking the MLS by Storm

How This Young Welsh Coach is Taking the MLS by Storm

The final whistle blew on a sunny Sunday afternoon in San Diego and with 90 minutes up, Minnesota United had recorded their 15th win of the campaign. Four games of the regular season still remained, but the Loons had already beaten their record MLS points tally, and the Supporters’ Shield was still up for grabs.

The climb continues.#CuzMaybe 🏆 pic.twitter.com/floOcn9csP

— x - Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) September 19, 2025

Used to the cold climate of Minnesota, one of the more Northern states in the US, bordering Canada, United had gotten the hang of travelling to California four - if not more - times a season. As had Eric Ramsay, Minnesota’s Shrewsbury-born, 34-year-old manager, who became the MLS’ youngest ever coach when he left little ol’ Britain to take the job ahead of the 2024 campaign.

The Loons’ 3-1 victory over San Diego FC was special for more than one reason; it did not just break records, but also depicted Ramsay’s tough tactics at their very best. San Diego, who were top of the Western Conference for a reason, had greater possession (66%), 28 shots, 14 of those on target, over double Minnesota’s passes, and almost two whole expected goals more than their opponents. Whether you watched the game or glimpsed at the statistics, both read the same way. San Diego dominated.

However, the Black and Blue had developed a knack for heroic defensive showings under Ramsay. In the San Diego match alone, the squad had racked up 17 tackles, nine interceptions, seven blocks, 34 clearances, and 12 saves from their reliable number one, Dayne St. Clair. Everyone on the pitch that day was clinical, and the ‘anti-football’ game plan was perfectly executed.

A Brutal End to Minnesota’s First MLS Era

The state of Minnesota doesn’t have a lot to brag about when it comes to the modern major league sports scene. The Timberwolves have never reached an NBA Finals, the Wild have a similar story in the NHL, as do the Twins in MLB, and it has been almost 50 years since the Vikings made a Super Bowl.

By the end of 2023, the club (which is based in the Twin Cities metropolitan region of Minneapolis–St. Paul) had come to a set of crossroads. For the first time in their MLS history, manager Adrian Heath was not at the helm. The former Everton and Burnley midfielder had been fired after seven years coaching the club, along with long-term technical director, Mark Watson.

The British pair’s sacking came as a result of a historically low finish in Major League Soccer. The Loons had never looked worse, and Heath and Watson left the club with a 2019 US Open Cup Runners-Up medal, their greatest achievement.

MNUFC Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad scoured the globe during the off-season for a coach to lead the club’s next chapter. This search stretched into the 2024 season, but finally, three games into the campaign, the statement was announced.

“Minnesota United FC today announced Eric Ramsay as the second head coach in the club’s Major League Soccer history… His experience working with top-level players, coaches, and sporting staff at both the club and international level – as well as his alignment in playing style and development philosophy – all fit with the vision we have for the future of MNUFC.”

An unknown name to not only American fans, but also to many on his home island of Great Britain. The Loons’ had hired a hidden coaching gem, who spoke English, Spanish, and French, while just a few years prior had become the youngest ever British coach to receive his UEFA Pro License, at the tender age of 27.

Former Man Utd coach Eric Ramsay already making a big impression @MNUFC

Has 2nd highest pts per game during his time in MLS

Also conducts his post match press conference in Spanish as well as English (big Hispanic audience in US)

Fluent in French too #MUFC pic.twitter.com/JUWWtohEYu

— Training Ground Guru (@ground_guru) June 3, 2024

A Top Prodigy, Who Hid From the Spotlight

Ramsay was still a teenager when he decided the playing side of the game was not for him. He had already turned down a professional contract at Welsh side The New Saints, having appeared in the Welsh top flight for Welshpool Town. Instead, he focused on coaching, an area of the game that had always felt natural to him, and it was while attending Loughborough University that he met fellow student and future Ipswich manager, Kieran McKenna.

McKenna and Ramsay helped coach the university’s football team together whilst they both studied sports science. The pair would then find themselves reunited again eight years after graduating, but far from the touchlineof a university playing field. Instead, it was Old Trafford that had magnetized the two back into touch, who, along with Michael Carrick, created the most promising coaching trio in the Premier League.

To no one's shock, since 2021 all three have left Manchester United and gone on to become skilled tacticians. The Red Devils’ curse seems to have extended to the coaching staff too, but unlike Carrick and McKenna, Ramsay did not choose to take his youthful but wealthy experience to the English Football League. Ramsay revealed to Hayters.com:

“I did have some chances to go to the Championship but I felt like this (coming to America) was a good step. I do genuinely feel like I’ll be ten times better prepared for whatever comes next… It’s not an easy profession, particularly in England where the level of scrutiny and media interest, even in League One, in the Championship is just insane. Getting managers sacked is a bit of a national sport.”

The Welshman also expressed in the interview how quickly young British coaches generate hype, and he’s not wrong; Frank Lampard found himself managing Chelsea when he had hardly stepped foot into the managerial game and has since had to rebuild his career in the Championship.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Frank Lampard as Head Coach. ⤵️

— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) November 28, 2024

Ramsay was not naive when it came to his first senior position. Instead of thrusting himself into the English spotlight, he snapped up the opportunity to truly start his journey in North America.

“The length of a tenure here is significantly longer on average than it is in the championship… Coming to a place where the owners are very sensible, you’ve got really sensible people that are looking at the long-term vision of the club, I felt like this is as good a chance I was going to have to make sure that when I come out the other side of this, I’m as well prepared for whatever comes next as I could be.”

Unlike almost every other league in the world, MLS clubs can prepare and build for the future with the comforting knowledge that relegation is not a possibility. It therefore created the perfect environment for Ramsay to flourish and learn on the job.

EFL Influences

The 34-year-old has witnessed the beautiful game at almost every level, from the Cymru Premier to the Premier League. Just weeks after his graduation ceremony, Ramsay secured a job at Swansea City as a Lead Professional Development Phase Coach. Younger than most of those who played for Swansea at the time, the coach spent four seasons with the Swans during their Premier League years.

He would then take a step down to have a taste of the grit of the EFL, back where it all started at League One’s Shrewsbury Town. Initially the academy manager, Ramsay subsequently worked with the club's first team as interim manager and then first-team coach. Whilst there, he contributed to one of their best seasons in recent memory, as the Shrews battled with Blackburn and Wigan to finish 3rd in the 2017/18 edition of League One.

ERIC RAMSAY JOINS CHELSEA: Shrewsbury Town can confirm that first-team coach Eric Ramsay has departed the club to join Chelsea’s Academy set up where he will become Assistant Coach of the U23s.

FULL STORY HERE. 👇https://t.co/NOW9Hf3f14 pic.twitter.com/RNcqLRF87r

— Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsburytown) July 23, 2019

The list continues and gradually gets more impressive. From the EFL, Ramsay would head to Chelsea as an U23 coach, before his time at Manchester United, but the CV does not stop there, as Ramsay teamed up with Rob Page in 2023 to become his assistant at the Welsh National Team.

Ramsay’s blend of authority and friendliness, as well as his bilingual tongue, helped him welcome senior players like Casemiro to Manchester United, amongst many others at every club he has graced.

The Ramsay Way

The official state bird of Minnesota is the loon, hence the club’s nickname and logo. Loons are aquatic birds and spend a lot of their time on the water rather than in the sky. It is with heavy irony that flying is all Ramsay has done since touching down across the pond.

The manager and club clicked in an instant; it made sense after you discovered that the club's anthem is the Brit Pop hit 'Wonderwall'. Minnesota were top of the Western Conference twelve games into the 2024 season, the club's best ever start to an MLS season.

By the time the postseason came around, Ramsay had reconstructed the Loons into a well-oiled machine that had broken franchise records for goals scored, away points, and consecutive clean sheets. A 6th-place finish and Western Conference semi-final exit might sound like the season succumbed to disappointment, but Ramsay had delivered Minnesota a first playoff triumph in four years, and the best was yet to come.

Minnesota United FC's new post-match tradition is something else! They belt out 'Wonderwall' by Oasis at the end of every game 🎶😆🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/e8iaJygEph

— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 19, 2018

At the time of writing, MNUFC have three games to go of the regular season and are three points from the top of the Western Conference. Expectations were not sky-high for the Blue and Black this season; the job was to simply build on the foundations set last year, but within 12 months, Ramsay has turned a squad of regular MLS players into title contenders.

Deploying a back three formation (often starting as a 3-4-2-1), Ramsay’s Minnesota rejects the idea of possession or passing-based play. His side sit bottom of the league rankings for average possession per 90 (38.8%) and accurate passes per 90 (262.7). In light of this news, you could almost guess which areas the Loons rank highly in.

Only Philadelphia and Vancouver (two incredible teams) have a better goals conceded per game ratio (1.1 per game) than Minnesota (1.2 per game). The St. Paul-based side are first for clearances per 90 (29.9) and have wealthy stats when it comes to winning the ball in their own defensive third as well - it appears that Ramsay has built a unique resilience in the Midwest and a team that opponents dread to play against.

The Welshman has balanced youth and experience in defence, welcoming in the experienced Julian Gressel to play at right wing-back, as well as Nicolas Romero, a young Argentinian center-half. All-star goalkeeper, and Canada’s number one, Dayne St. Clair, has a strong case for keeper of the year, spectacularly bailing out the team on multiple occasions, and he is one of the only members of the squad to have survived from the Heath era; however, Robin Lod and Bongokuhle Hlongwane are also long-term servants who deserve their flowers.

Dayne St. Clair's 12 saves on Saturday for #MNUFC are an MLS season high, and the first time since April 2023 (Roman Bürki) that an MLS goalkeeper has made that many.

It was just the 11th time in MLS history that a goalkeeper has made 12 or more saves in a game, per @Stathead.

— Jon Marthaler (@jmarthaler) September 15, 2025

Tani Oluwaseyi - who I tipped to go far in an article earlier this summer - is another individual who can be hugely celebrated around Minnesota. The Canadian forward notched up 19 goal contributions in 29 appearances this season before joining Villareal for over $9 million, a club record sale. Oluwaseyi has already scored in La Liga for Villareal and will be one to watch at the 2026 World Cup.

Tani Oluwaseyi gets his first Villarreal goal to open the scoring against Sevilla.

After picking up a strong assist last match in a 2-1 win over Osasuna.

Two goal contributions in his last 22 minutes in La Liga.#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/eRCuVqp4h8

— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) September 23, 2025

Playoffs Await Once Again

Ramsay almost called time on his MLS journey after the Southampton job became available earlier this year - the Saints join a list of clubs that includes West Bromwich Albion, Blackpool, and Barnsley, who have considered the 34-year-old for their head coach vacancy. But whilst he could’ve followed in the footsteps of fellow British managers and taken a Championship gig, Ramsay had picked a different route to the top, highlighting the type of person he is. Calculated and hard-working, just like the Minnesota United squad that plays for him to this day.

The Loons will approach the playoffs with confidence that they can better last year's final eight finish, and Ramsay will be confident that their style of play complements the knockout format. The Welshman himself has felt the pressures of the Premier League, preparing him for the savage nature of the MLS postseason. Whether records continue to be broken or not, the Welshman has already cemented himself in Minnesota’s short but storied history. From the goals scored to the hundreds of clearances witnessed, he has truly given the fans at Allianz Field something to cheer about at last.