In the past few days, the erstwhile owner of FC Fargo, Tim Singleton, has been hired as General Manager of Minnesota TwinStars. I wish him all the luck in the world. Like everyone in the fourth division, he's gonna need it, although it's not clear if he has been hired as GM of the entire club - which has an NPSL side, a women's team and a very successful academy side - or just the NPSL side.
At the same time, but insisting that they are unaffiliated with management, the TwinStars has a supporters group - Third Star MN -whose Twitter feed nonetheless shows the spirit of 'Singles'.
Elsewhere, our former whipping boys at FC Minneapolis have the unprecedented decision to become a "professional non-league club", playing a schedule of friendlies in perpetuity.
What makes this unprecedented is that teams usually play friendlies when their league is on a hiatus or holiday. The only other sports structure I can think of with intentionally long term independent "clubs" is college football.
In making this announcement, the Lions (although their logo is closer to a cat-ball hybrid) have relegated their presence as a founder of the American Champions League to an u-23 team.
Talking of relegation, they blame the lack of promotion or relegation - although the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League would have provided that platform, if they so wished.
They have always been ambitious/foolhardy (delete where appropriate) and they also announced a move from Minnetonka High School's football Einer Anderson Stadium to the 10,000 seater "Nessy" stadium, the National Sports Center in Blaine - most recently the home of the state's only unarguably professional club, Minnesota United.
For a club who struggled to fulfil their APL schedule, convincing 10,000 people to attend friendlies will be a challenge, and thusfar, the evidence suggests they'll lose.
I guess history will tell.
Tim
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