The Rest of the Story: 2023 MLS preview, part 4
The final 8 teams...
Minnesota United
2022 Record: 14W 6D 14L -3GD 48Pts (6th in West, lost to Dallas in first round)
2023 Elevator Pitch: There’s good depth here and a talisman in one of MLS’ most underrated players in Emanuel Reyno…wait, what? He’s where? And they don’t know, you say?
Ohhhhh boy
How it will go right?
In case you aren’t following the joke above, the club’s centrepiece No 10, Emanuel Reynoso just…didn’t show up to training camp. They have literally built the team around him.
So, they need to figure this out. That’s priority one, two and three.
You can hang your hat on the rest of the players raising their game and stepping up and all that, but that’s more of a hope than a plan.
How it will go wrong?
To avoid stating the obvious, the biggest issue now would be likely if they let this drag out too long. It’s a disaster if he’s really gone, but it’s better deal with the rot now rather than to let it fester. There is enough depth here to stay in touch until you can replace him in the summer window and still make the bloated playoff field.