Football Season Guide

Adrian Heath returns to the MLS with another expansion side as Minnesota United look to make a better impact in their inaugural season as an MLS franchise by putting up a good fight in a tough Western Conference. Heath was sacked midway through an underwhelming campaign last season with Orlando City but the 56-year old will be hoping for a vastly different outcome as he looks to keep Minnesota competitive in the Western Conference. Heath has not had the time in getting the club ready for MLS, having been appointed late in November, and, unlike Orlando, things have been very quiet in terms of new arrivals with the club not able to make a splash in terms of a big name signing. Minnesota have stuck with Christian Ramirez, Justin Davis and Kevin Venegas, with the trio making the move from NASL while Miguel Ibarra also returns back to the club after spending two seasons with Club Leon in Mexico. Heath has largely focused on bringing in players who are young but with experience and have made a couple of smart acquisitions in Francisco Calvo and Kevin Molino, with the duo expected to play a key role in Minnesota's fortunes this season. Molino enjoyed an excellent campaign with Orlando last season, bagging 11 goals and eight assists and will be shouldering a large portion of the creative burden for Minnesota. Other arrivals include the Scandinavian trio of Vadim Demidov, Rasmus Schuller and John Alvbåge, who will be fighting for the starting spot in the goal with Bobby Shuttleworth. There are a lot of question marks for Heath though and the Minnesota coach will be aware that he will have to mould the team together into a solid unit quickly if they are to not become fodder for their MLS rivals, especially in a Western Conference that even experienced teams such as Sporting Kansas City have found it difficult to compete in. Minnesota will be kicking the season off as the favorites to prop up the Western Conference and anything more will clearly be seen as a bonus for the club which is clearly still a work in progress.