Stop me when you know the story: A team in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer is ready for a new manager to take charge. A young British assistant coach is ready to take his first steps as a head coach. He leaves his job with one of England’s largest clubs to take the reins, bringing a new energy to the club and getting off to a promising enough start to turn some heads. 

Is that a hand I see in the back of the classroom? 

No, I’m not talking about former Loons manager Eric Ramsay. The past is the past, man; you gotta move on. Today’s Storylines is all about how the Rapids copied us by hiring Matt Wells — or at least, they’re trying to. We’re trendsetters, guys. What can I say?

Stan Fell Down a Well(s)

When Chris Armas and the Rapids agreed to part ways at the end of his contract following the end of the 2025 season, it felt like the club was coming to the end of a very brief project that barely ever got started. First, they built a team around American players, signing Djordje Mihailovic as a DP, bringing Zack Steffen back from Europe to tend the net, and really investing in the SuperDraft to further emphasize their belief in domestic talent. Armas was a natural fit to lead that particular charge as an American manager with experience as an assistant in the Premier League and experience as a head coach at several MLS clubs. 

For whatever reason, though, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment bailed on the plan — or, at the very least, modified it. Mihailovic wanted to move to Toronto and they let Armas walk. They brought Paxten Aaronson back from Europe as a Designated Player to fill Djordje’s shoes, showing that the approach wasn’t totally abandoned, just adapting. That left just one role to fill, and former Tottenham Hotspur Senior Assistant Coach Matt Wells was the man for the job, and his story has some pretty familiar undertones. 

After an 11-year youth soccer career in the Tottenham academy system, Wells pivoted to coaching after falling short of a first-team debut. He earned his UEFA B Coaching License by age 20 and went straight into assistant coaching at his boyhood club. He left Spurs to spend time on Scott Parker’s staff at Fulham, Bournemouth, and Club Brugge before returning to the Tottenham first team coaching staff under Ange Postecoglou in 2023. He was part of the staff that led the club to its first trophy in 17 years, earning a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the 2025 Europa League final. 

These Parallels Ain’t Perfect

Between vastly different roster-building strategies and totally different club ecosystems, it would be foolish to suggest that Wells will be a hit just because Ramsay’s time in Minnesota was successful. In 12 games, he’s got his Rapids side sitting at 11th in the Western Conference on just 13 points. Considering they finished 11th in the 2025 standings, it’s safe to say that they haven’t seen the improvement they’re hoping for — yet. There’s plenty of season to go, and there have been signs of life. I can feel a pulse here, folks. 

Let’s look at the first half of this short season for proof. Through seven games, the Rapids were 4-3-0,  picking up 12 of their 13 points in some truly exciting games. They scored 19 goals (nearly three a game) and conceded 12, playing end-to-end stuff that would get even the neutrals tuning in off their feet. But, since their USOC Round of 32 win over Union Omaha, Colorado has struggled in league play. A narrow loss to Inter Miami was followed by a draw against LAFC, and a pair of consecutive 1-0 losses had to sting after such a good start to 2026. The recent form hasn’t been ideal, but nor has it been catastrophic. There’s something building here; it’s just hit a speed bump. 

Obviously, the Rapids didn’t hire Wells just because of the success that we had with Coach Ramsay here at MNUFC, but let’s take a second to look at the facts. Prior to Ramsay’s appointment, your Loons were a solid, middle-of-the-pack club that made the playoffs more often than not. After two seasons in charge, they’d set a new single-season points record, scored the most set pieces in the league, and developed one of Major League Soccer’s most easily identifiable styles of play. And, if you remember back to 2024, Coach Ramsay’s first year in charge wasn’t without its hiccups. A particularly rough period in the summer of 2024 saw the Loons nearly lose their spot in that season’s playoffs, but a strong finish revived the project and brought the club to another level. 

Colorado’s project may not be off to the flying start they were hoping for, but the groundwork is there to turn things around. There’s more season to be played after the World Cup break than there is before it, and if they can find some magic before June, they could go into that stretch with the kind of positivity needed to start cooking up something special. Be wary this Wednesday, Loons fans, but maybe not too wary.