If it were possible to have a moment of silence in writing, I would have one now, for all of you unfortunate bastards who, like myself, are so benighted as to be Timbers supporters.
As I have written before, it would be one thing if the Timbers were simply terrible; a disgrace of a side along the lines of last season's Chivas USA --completely demoralized and largely playing, each man not for the team, but rather, for a shot at continuing his career in some kind of hypothetical future-- but this is emphatically not the case at all.
In fact, to the contrary, the Timbers have executed the neat trick of looking great not only on paper, but also on the pitch, for the majority of their four matches thus far this season. This has had the unfortunate effect of raising the hopes and aspirations of Timbers fans in a way that a genuinely bad team would not, and as such, I would argue that the continual mixing of brilliance with resounding incompetence is that much harder to take.
But anyway. But nothing. But at least Darlington Nagbe is obviously one of the best players in all of MLS. But I swear, the Timbers reunited with Diego Valeri and Will Johnson will destroy.
Well, so we are told. It's hard to believe right now.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Minnesota United announced as next MLS expansion team
Not sure how auspicious this is for the Republic FC's chances, but it's great news if you like soccer and live in the upper Midwest. This means we have LAFC, Atlanta and Minnesota United as definite expansion sides, with Sacramento Republic and Miami as possibilities for the last slot. I have a hunch that Garber and the boys, possibly with a push from David Beckham who is allegedly involved in Miami's potential ownership group, are going to go for Miami as being a much larger market than Sac, even though there is a pretty strong argument to be made that soccer fans in Miami, most of whom are immigrants from Latin America or the Caribbean, already have teams that they follow and aren't really interested in MLS, but that could just be my bias speaking. Anyhow, this from the nice email MLS sent out earlier today:
Major League Soccer announced that Minnesota has been awarded an expansion team that will begin play in 2018. The new club will be owned by a Minnesota ownership group led by Dr. Bill McGuire, and the team will play in a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
"We are proud to welcome Minnesota to Major League Soccer," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "The ownership group's commitment to soccer and the community, the area's growing millennial population and the region's rich tradition of supporting soccer at all levels in Minnesota were key indicators that this was the right market. The passionate soccer fans in Minnesota will soon have a world-class, downtown soccer stadium that will serve as the home for the new MLS team and become a destination for marquee international sports events.
As for Minnesota FC's elegant crest, seen here in it's current NASL incarnation, for copyright reasons MLS is obliged to change it. If the past is anything to go on, I expect that they will "cartoonize" it and in general, try to make it look as inauthentic and garish and blatantly commercialized as possible.
Major League Soccer announced that Minnesota has been awarded an expansion team that will begin play in 2018. The new club will be owned by a Minnesota ownership group led by Dr. Bill McGuire, and the team will play in a new soccer-specific stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
"We are proud to welcome Minnesota to Major League Soccer," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "The ownership group's commitment to soccer and the community, the area's growing millennial population and the region's rich tradition of supporting soccer at all levels in Minnesota were key indicators that this was the right market. The passionate soccer fans in Minnesota will soon have a world-class, downtown soccer stadium that will serve as the home for the new MLS team and become a destination for marquee international sports events.
As for Minnesota FC's elegant crest, seen here in it's current NASL incarnation, for copyright reasons MLS is obliged to change it. If the past is anything to go on, I expect that they will "cartoonize" it and in general, try to make it look as inauthentic and garish and blatantly commercialized as possible.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Portland Timbers 0:0 Sporting Kansas City
Another draw is not what any of us wanted. It's hard to be enthusiastic about a hard fought match in which the Timbers looked good, but once again, failed to get the job done against a side that, while certainly not a pushover, very much did look as though it was ripe for a solid beating.
Since this is so, let us start by focusing on the positive aspects.
There are a few things that the Timbers continue to do right;
That said, on the downside, we have a series of complaints that, all else being equal, are basically fair game here. A list of them might look something like this:
That said, in all honesty I think the Timbers are doing alright. A slow start, so long as it does not include any losses, given the lack of Johnson and Valeri, is actually pretty auspicious.
What we are looking at is a well-oiled side that's used to playing under a single coaching system and that by any reckoning should, once reinforced by the presence and skills of its two primary play-makers, kick serious ass for the rest of the season.
Since this is so, let us start by focusing on the positive aspects.
There are a few things that the Timbers continue to do right;
- Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgwell continue to gel, forming what I think any objective person will readily admit is one of the most formidable backlines in all of MLS.
- Darlington Nagbe is still by far one of the finest offensive players in the league. While he's not quite up to Diego Valeri's ability in terms of making plays down the center, there's no reason to think that he won't be up to great things as the season progresses, especially once he has Valeri to play off in the wings.
- Diego Chara is back, and how do I know? Because he got a yellow card tonight and so long as Chara is getting yellows, we all know that he's wreaking havoc across the midfield which, after all, is basically why we hired the guy in the first place. Chara is the soccer version of an anarchist; he doesn't care about the rules and if you want to go toe to toe with him, by god, win or lose, by the end of the match you will know you've been in a fight.
- Jack Jewsbury. Say what you will about Jack's lack of pace, but the guy is solid and generally capable of doing what he was hired for. Add to that his ability on set-pieces --hands down, he's better than Valeri on corners-- and what you have is an old Timbers stand-by who is is still very much worth a shit.
That said, on the downside, we have a series of complaints that, all else being equal, are basically fair game here. A list of them might look something like this:
- What do you mean with your gaudy players like Darlington Nagbe or Fanendo Adi who, for all their skill cannot seem to get their shit together for a single goal?
- How do you expect us to believe in you when you seem to be incapable of playing to your real potential in the absence of Johnson and Valeri?
That said, in all honesty I think the Timbers are doing alright. A slow start, so long as it does not include any losses, given the lack of Johnson and Valeri, is actually pretty auspicious.
What we are looking at is a well-oiled side that's used to playing under a single coaching system and that by any reckoning should, once reinforced by the presence and skills of its two primary play-makers, kick serious ass for the rest of the season.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Kevin Nagle, majority owner of Sacramento Republic FC, with some encouraging news via Twitter
Not sure what this means in terms of who gets the next round of expansions --word on the street is that Minneapolis and Miami are still ahead of Sac-- but it sure sounds auspicious.
@srfc_kevin: I've talked to @MLS, we are at the top of their list for the next round of expansion. #BuiltForMLS
— Sac Republic FC (@SacRepublicFC) March 17, 2015Ridgy on draw with Galaxy and Saturday's match at SKC
Defender Liam Ridgwell makes a few remarks in a video clip posted on Oregonlive.com
We encourage optimism around here and accordingly applaud his sentiments.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Timbers 2:2 Galaxy in Sunday evening debacle at Providence Park
Although I can take no real joy in having accurately predicted the outcome of Sunday evening's match, one must be satisfied with what little consolation one can find in such dismal circumstances, so at least I've got that going for me.
Because let's be honest; it's not so much the fact that the Timbers managed to yet again snatch a draw from the jaws of victory as it is the galling way in which they contrived to pull it off. A draw would not be nearly so vexing had it been due to a rally to come from behind rather than the traditional "we forget how to defend for a few minutes after every goal we score," that to the contrary, allowed a basically outplayed and solidly beaten Galaxy to come away with a draw on the road that should have been a loss.
On the plus side, the game itself was fast-paced, full of action but not too chippy, fairly well refereed --without any of the egregious calls that so often mar MLS competition-- and in general, a credit to the league's ongoing journey to international relevancy.
The match began at a good clip with the Timbers pressing early for a decent look at goal on a Nagbe pass to Adi in the third minute. The Galaxy, for their part, were not impressed and managed to collar two corner kicks in the first 20 minutes with some dangerous-looking pressure of their own. It was a real back and forth until the 31st minute when the Timbers launched a flawless counter that covered the distance of the pitch in a series of passes from Chara to Nagbe to Wallace and finally to Adi who barely stayed onside while managing to slot it home inside the far post.
The champs seemed to take this as a personal affront and pushed hard for the remainder, determined, it appeared, to find an equalizer before the half.
Nothing doing. While the Timbers defense didn't look stellar, it did look functional (as opposed to last year's) and new backline additions, Asprilla and Borchers, together with Kwarasey at goalkeeper, displayed an encouraging level of competence.
Early in the second half, the Timbers seemed to lose their mojo and gave up several dangerous opportunities to Keane and Zardes, LA's rightly-feared pair of forwards, neither of whom are accustomed to missing such giveaways. In the 65th minute Zardes hammered home this rather obvious point as the Galaxy easily put together a counter that ended with a Villareal pass into the box that Zardes tapped in to bring the score even.
The rest of the half was played at a similar pace as a handful of subs brought fresh legs to the field, but both sides kept it together and it very much looked as if, barring any last minute melt-downs on the part of the Timbers (something that they are unfortunately known for), the match would end with a 1:1 draw.
However, this is not how we do things in Portland. No sir. First, on another brilliant counter in the 89th minute, Nagbe passed across the box to Adi who adjusted a trifle before knocking it in, and then, in the 92nd minute, with one minute of stoppage left, the Timbers plum forgot to defend, let LA take another corner, and got ready to cry themselves to sleep as Galaxy sub, Gordon, marked by a guy half his size, easily headed it in for the draw.
Other Notes and Questions:
On the plus side, the game itself was fast-paced, full of action but not too chippy, fairly well refereed --without any of the egregious calls that so often mar MLS competition-- and in general, a credit to the league's ongoing journey to international relevancy.
The match began at a good clip with the Timbers pressing early for a decent look at goal on a Nagbe pass to Adi in the third minute. The Galaxy, for their part, were not impressed and managed to collar two corner kicks in the first 20 minutes with some dangerous-looking pressure of their own. It was a real back and forth until the 31st minute when the Timbers launched a flawless counter that covered the distance of the pitch in a series of passes from Chara to Nagbe to Wallace and finally to Adi who barely stayed onside while managing to slot it home inside the far post.
The champs seemed to take this as a personal affront and pushed hard for the remainder, determined, it appeared, to find an equalizer before the half.
Nothing doing. While the Timbers defense didn't look stellar, it did look functional (as opposed to last year's) and new backline additions, Asprilla and Borchers, together with Kwarasey at goalkeeper, displayed an encouraging level of competence.
Early in the second half, the Timbers seemed to lose their mojo and gave up several dangerous opportunities to Keane and Zardes, LA's rightly-feared pair of forwards, neither of whom are accustomed to missing such giveaways. In the 65th minute Zardes hammered home this rather obvious point as the Galaxy easily put together a counter that ended with a Villareal pass into the box that Zardes tapped in to bring the score even.
The rest of the half was played at a similar pace as a handful of subs brought fresh legs to the field, but both sides kept it together and it very much looked as if, barring any last minute melt-downs on the part of the Timbers (something that they are unfortunately known for), the match would end with a 1:1 draw.
However, this is not how we do things in Portland. No sir. First, on another brilliant counter in the 89th minute, Nagbe passed across the box to Adi who adjusted a trifle before knocking it in, and then, in the 92nd minute, with one minute of stoppage left, the Timbers plum forgot to defend, let LA take another corner, and got ready to cry themselves to sleep as Galaxy sub, Gordon, marked by a guy half his size, easily headed it in for the draw.
Other Notes and Questions:
- LA looks credible and dangerous without Donovan, a loss that everyone wondered about. Are they the same team? Absolutely not, but they are still a tough nut to crack and with the anticipated arrival of Stephen Gerrard at centerfield this summer, I'm not exactly going out on a limb when I predict that they will yet again be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference.
- The Timbers actually looked pretty good. I absolutely hate it that they threw away two points in a way that makes it appear that they've learned nothing from their past mistakes, but again, they actually looked pretty good, and when you consider that they were lacking both Valeri and Johnson, there may very well be cause for optimism.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Big Test Ahead for Timbers on Sunday
To say that Sunday's match against the LA Galaxy is a day of reckoning for the Timbers is probably overstating the case by half, but it would also be a mistake to simply dismiss it as just another "second match of the season" in which a win, while nice, is not critical.
So here's why LA matters:
The first thing to say is that the Galaxy are the league's reigning bully-boys. While sides like Seattle and Toronto FC and Orlando SC and NYCFC have gaudy rosters and appear to be playing well, none of them are, at face value, anywhere near as scary as the league's reigning champs who, with a convincing victory over Chicago, showed what everyone already suspected --that LA is fine without Landon-- that the rest of the league is on notice.
Which is just to say that the Timbers will have their work cut out for them Sunday evening at Providence Park. A win will mean a definitive --if not yet set in stone-- turn-around from last year's doldrums, while a loss, especially at a rainy Providence Park, may well signal a return to last season's dithering, though of course, in the continuing absence of both Valeri and Johnson and possibly Chara, excuses can and probably will be made.
Anyhow, the take-home point here, if there is one at all, is that a Timbers win means exciting things for Portland especially if it happens with two or possibly three of their star players out, while a loss or a draw, while not the end of the world, will have a feeling of an inevitable return to last year's sorry early season shambles, whether that connection is fairly made or not.
For LA, a win will be no more than confirmation of what they clearly already believe, which is that they are the best side in the league and will only get that much better when Stephen Gerrard joins the midfield in summer. A loss or a draw for the Galaxy can and probably will be written off as the result of early season rust --and the Galaxy is notorious for heating up only later in the season-- together with playing in rainy conditions at Providence Park which is well-known as a difficult venue for visiting sides.
My rash prediction is that we are in for a draw and that the Timbers won't truly hit their stride until a bit later in the season when all of their important missing pieces are returned and worked back into the system.
So here's why LA matters:
The first thing to say is that the Galaxy are the league's reigning bully-boys. While sides like Seattle and Toronto FC and Orlando SC and NYCFC have gaudy rosters and appear to be playing well, none of them are, at face value, anywhere near as scary as the league's reigning champs who, with a convincing victory over Chicago, showed what everyone already suspected --that LA is fine without Landon-- that the rest of the league is on notice.
Which is just to say that the Timbers will have their work cut out for them Sunday evening at Providence Park. A win will mean a definitive --if not yet set in stone-- turn-around from last year's doldrums, while a loss, especially at a rainy Providence Park, may well signal a return to last season's dithering, though of course, in the continuing absence of both Valeri and Johnson and possibly Chara, excuses can and probably will be made.
Anyhow, the take-home point here, if there is one at all, is that a Timbers win means exciting things for Portland especially if it happens with two or possibly three of their star players out, while a loss or a draw, while not the end of the world, will have a feeling of an inevitable return to last year's sorry early season shambles, whether that connection is fairly made or not.
For LA, a win will be no more than confirmation of what they clearly already believe, which is that they are the best side in the league and will only get that much better when Stephen Gerrard joins the midfield in summer. A loss or a draw for the Galaxy can and probably will be written off as the result of early season rust --and the Galaxy is notorious for heating up only later in the season-- together with playing in rainy conditions at Providence Park which is well-known as a difficult venue for visiting sides.
My rash prediction is that we are in for a draw and that the Timbers won't truly hit their stride until a bit later in the season when all of their important missing pieces are returned and worked back into the system.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Colorado Rapids 2:2 Portland Timbers
It was another weird game with any number of odd weather-related variables together with the usual element of dodgy officiating, a few blatant blunders, the odd moment of brilliance and a determined possession-oriented Timbers side that in spite of what would have been the obvious thing to do, managed to pull off yet another draw on the road.
Frustrating, confounding, deeply confusing and yet still inspiring of hope are all terms that apply to the Timbers thus far in their tenure under MLS newcomer head coach Caleb Porter.
On the one hand you've got a team that's given up the first goal in all four of its MLS regular season matches, while on the other, you've also got a team that's dominated match statistics and that has managed to fight back from every deficit but one (and that against Montreal who are currently undefeated and who seem to be on a rampage) to come away with a point.
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