Tag: Caleb Porter

Columbus Day Miracle

What a weird match that was. Our new coach plays our old coach for the first time. We were at the very bottom of our conference and the entire league while ColumbusColumbus was 2nd place in the East. Jeff Attinella is making all kinds of 2015 MLS Cup Steve Clark blunders while Steve Clark sits on our bench as a backup keeper. The Root Sports broadcast barely showed Caleb Porter on the sidelines, and we missed the handful of Timbers players greeting him either before or after the match. It’s a win that couldn’t have come at a better time. OK, actually last week, or the week proviso would have been a better time, but hey, we’ll take it. Let’s keep this 2 game streak of playing well and keep going!

Si, Pity

Timbers Army “No Pity” scarves made an impression in Atlanta. Enough so that Five Stripes supporters have made their own edition, a riff on ours that welcomes Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez as their new DP. I’m wondering how it will be received out of context without No Pity to reflect it. Does it make sense? About as much as me including Caleb Porter [source] in this graphic.

Porter Couldn’t Watch Our Home Opener

Jamie Goldberg has written a very interesting piece on Caleb Porter in The Oregonian that talks about what it’s like for him to get back to work, and how he feels about watching Portland from afar. He watched the first 5 away games, but could not bring himself to watch the home opener, and is not looking forward to that first Crew match in Portland, come 2020.

Caleb Porter to Columbus Crew

After throwing his hat in the ring for the USMNT, and either passing on the LA Galaxy, or not receiving an offer, Caleb will be replacing Greg Berhalter, who did just take charge of the USMNT. I wonder if this is a bit of a letdown for him. He’ll be going home to Ohio, but how will Crew supporters welcome the former coach of the team that robbed them of a 2nd MLS Cup at Mapfre? It’s also potentially very exciting to take charge of a team with a fresh new ownership group intent on revitalizing the club. I just hope they give him a pass on this first year if it doesn’t go well. Why? He’s coming in without a lot of time to spare, taking over someone else’s system and players. It’s a team whose very existence has been in upheaval for the past year. I hope he does well, just not too well.

BTW – I’m trying to find the source tweet that mentioned Porter passing on LAG. It said LAG only offered a year contract and Porter wasn’t interested.

Porter to Orlando FC?

I didn’t even get to properly address the bombshell of Caleb Porter resigning because it happened while the site was down for months. There has been speculation on whether he was asked to resign after our disastrous performance in the playoffs vs. Houston last year. Coincidentally, I finally got around to watching that game on the DVR for the first time. I make a habit of watching the broadcast of games that I attend. It’s an entirely different perspective. For one, a lot of the calls that we fervently boo when they don’t go our way, well sometimes they seem to be correct. That last match in Portland played out pretty much how I remembered. It was a bitter disappointment, but we bossed Houston around for the most part, and they got lucky on that last goal.

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The Week in Caleb Porter Interviews

Two good interviews with Caleb Porter this week. The first on FourFourTwo is quite lengthy, with Caleb about his past coaching experiences at all levels, and what he’s learned. He’s talked about it briefly in other interviews, but not in such detail.  The second interview is in actually in the Soccer Made in Portland podcast, which I listen to regularly. Unlike previous SMIP interviews with Porter, this one took place with everyone in the same room instead of being phoned in. (OK, there was a Caleb Porter appearance on the live broadcast of SMIP in 2016.) Porter talks a lot about T2 and development, as well as the first team starting 11 positions as injured players become available. He weighs the benefit of Valentin vs. Powell, and Vytas vs. Miller. What starts out as a cut and dry answer to the question of further moves in the summer transfer window get’s a little interesting. Somebody might be shopped, and there’s a position where Caleb definitely wants an upgrade. Usually the best (and rarest) part of any Caleb Porter interview involves him breaking into laughter. If you only listen to one part, tune into the 17:00 mark to hear Porter on Harold Hanson’s first appearance for the Timbers (in a regular season game).

Caleb Porter, One-on-One: I had it all figured out, then I got punched in the nose
Read it: FourFourTwo

Soccer Made in Portland: 2017 Episode 28 with Caleb Porter
Listen to it: Soccer Made in Portland

Porter Bullish on Rodney Wallace while scouting in Costa Rica

porter-costa-rica

Caleb Porter was spotted in Costa Rica doing some scouting. The reporters on hand asked hime the usual questions about who and what he was scouting for, and he gave the expected nonspecific answers, until about the 5:30 mark when the subject of Rodney Wallace was brought up. Surprisingly, Porter said they were still in contact, and he had in fact received a text from him a couple days earlier. Porter’s delivery made it seem like it was a purely social interaction, but it’s unlikely he would tip his hand in the event that it wasn’t. Still he did say “Who knows, maybe down the road we’ll get him back,” albeit with a big grin on his face. If you read Spanish, you can get the story at YashinQuesada.com, or watch the video after the jump.

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Should I stay or should I go?

2016roster

After the dumpster fire that was the last week of our 2016 season, we knew changes were coming. There were a couple announcements that were a little bit of a surprise and, and welcome at the same time. First, Jack Jewsbury is retired from the pitch, but sticking around the Timbers organization as Director of Business Development. Many had speculated that he might return to the Kansas City area, so supporters were happy to learn that Captain jack is sticking around.

[Photos: (Clockwise top left) Gabriel De Los Rios, Craig Mitchelldyer, ESPN, Troy Wayrynen, Craig Mitchelldyer AP Photo/Steve Dykes]

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Mistakes

Well, that was difficult to watch. If you haven’t seen these yet, watching them back to back is difficult as well.

Mistakes. That’s a rough birthday present.

On the positive side (I’m trying here). We got to see some of our attacking depth at work. Thanks Mattocks, we know how you love to score goals here, keep it up. Barmby almost got a header in. Alas, JackMac only came close… again.

Biggest take away is that Klute looks like he’s got himself a starting spot.

Caleb Porter on Men in Blazers

men-in-blazers-caleb-porter

Caleb Porter’s most serious challenge to date might have been dealing with random silliness associated with being interviewed on Men in Blazers, but he did in fact loosen up a bit. The interview took place last week, before opening day. I don’t know why Timbers social media didn’t promote this better. There’s a marker on the podcast for Caleb’s appearance, but the introduction starts a tiny bit earlier. There’s a couple other no-name guys on show, but Roger saved the best for last.  Frank Lampard and Jordan Morris? Never heard of ’em.