Liam Ridgewell was sort of unceremoniously jettisoned from the Timbers coaching staff on August 11th. He’s got a slightly complicated legacy as a Timber. Loved for coming to the team in 2014 and helping shore up our back line to ultimately bring us an MLS Cup. On the other hand, prone to an almost predictable injury during the summers on a schedule that many fans joked about as the beginning of boating season. He did like his boat… After retiring at the end of 2018, he joined the Timbers broadcast team in 2021 which was sometimes hilarious because his accent was at times undecipherable. Turned out that was just a prelim to getting hired as a defensive coach in 2022. Unfortunately, this somehow eventually coincided with a period of terrible Timbers defense. He survived Gio Savarese’s sacking and continued under Phil Neville, and at some point became a set piece coach. He was let go under Cifuentes. After the official introduction, Paulson mentioned he (MP) had been loyal to a fault to some people, and you have to wonder if Liam was one of those people. There’s two key moments that I remember him by. One, an uncharacteristic goal, and another, his MLS Cup fan celebration moment.

The Timbers eked out a win agains the Sounders at home this weekend, extending their losses to 6 in a row for the first time in club history, moving us up one spot above Seattle in the standings and back above the playoff line. They have a game in hand and to be fair, they fielded a squad missing something like 6 starters, and Paul Ariola got subbed out due to injury after 7 minutes. It was nowhere near the route 5-1 route we gave them a couple weeks ago. With a little luck and better finishing Seattle could have easily stolen that match from us, we weren’t very sharp. Still, to hear Sounders fans talk, you’d think they were in contention for the wooden spoon. Our tifo was amazing though, and apparently it actually got under Brian Schmetzer’s skin.

The Timbers officially announced the signing of Dutch international forward Vincent Janssen on a contract though the 2027-28 season. He’s a 32 year old who has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Monterrey, and most recently Royal Antwerp. It’s a non-DP signing that has people excited, despite the fact that he’s already up there in age for a striker. Near as I can tell, he had 13 goals and 7 assists in all competition his last season at Royal Antwerp. It seems he’s meant a a direct replacement for Felipe Mora. It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Janssen has big shoes to fill as far as Timbers fans are concerned. Mora has shown he can still put up some good numbers if he gets service and isn’t relegated to garbage time. You have to wonder what could have been if Phil had rated him. The Mora era is over, fingers crossed for Janssen. Jupiter Pro League Highlight reel after the jump.

Rumor was swirling and now it’s been announced, Saturday will be Filipe Mora’s last match as a Timber. Where is he going? They haven’t announced that bit. (Update: Atlético San Luis in Liga MX) Interesting timing given he subbed on and scored the match-tying goal on Wednesday and we have a new coach taking over in a couple weeks, possibly changing the amount of playing time he sees. He’s our third all time leading scorer, and will always be celebrated for his game tying goal in the 2021 MLS Cup. Sure, he’s in the tail end of his career, but I love this guy. Hes only a few short seasons removed from scoring 14 goals in 2024. He will be missed. Glad we’re getting a chance to give him a proper send off.

Last night’s Dallas game during a heat advisory went sort of as expected. Midweek games are sometimes not as lively, and the hot midday games can bog down a Cascadia rivalry. This was an evening game, but it was still kind of gross. Dallas guys ought to be used to that, and they’re a good team again this year, so this one was a trap lying in wait. Subbing Velde in changed everything. We managed to come back from a deficit twice, and tied in stoppage time, despite at least 3 lightning strikes late in the game. There’s supposed to be mandated delay of 30 minutes when there is a lightning strike within 8 miles of a game. This sure seemed close enough, so you have to wonder whether anyone was actually monitoring it, or the refs just decided to risk it since the game was almost over. Are there extenuating rules for delaying during stoppage? Would they have just called it? Fortunately for us, the tying goal happened about a minute or two after a strike, too quick for the powers that be to make a decision. Ithougth we were going to win this one for a while. We should have won it, but this is still a good result.

Photo courtesy of r/timbers user nomo_fomo. It’s a little more dramatic looking than it was in person. If you’re wondering how they captured it: “As soon as I heard thunder nearby, I started recording in slo-mo on my phone hoping to capture a moment like this. This photo is a screengrab from the video I shot. I made no edits to the frame itself.”

Last Saturday’s episode of Timbers 360 appears to have accidentally leaked the hire of Marti Cifuentes, who most recently was the gaffer for Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers while in the EFL Championship. He’s only briefly mentioned at the beginning of the show, almost as if they had a longer segment planned. Three days later there has still been no official announcement from the Timbers, although news outlets and reliable sources are reporting it. His stints with QPR and Leicester City were not the greatest, but he did well in other European leagues. He’s supposed to be an attack minded player whose teams play with a clear identity. UPDATE: Officially announced on 6/21/26.

Don Garber appeared Chad Ochocinco Johnson and Raheem Taylor-Parkes’ The Late Run podcast. He recalls the story of taking the presidnet of NBC Sports to a Timbers game. The verdict: “This is the best sporting event I’ve ever been to in my life.” Don also thinks the fact that people boo him means the league is succeeding.

A historic 5-1 beatdown of the Sounders in Seattle. It’s the first time the Sounders have given up 5 goals at home. It’s hard to pin down the stats but I think this evens the score in all-time MLS era games, all competitions, although we’re still behind in all eras. Featured image is a fan with an Oregon Trail themed scarf. Legend! Video of the announcer calling the Sounders “embarrassing” after the jump.

Interim Jack Cassidy we trust!

Spotted this on the Timbers reddit. Mojotooth changed the text of the member benefit email that usually offers season ticket holders a chance to attend a training session. “As a 2026 Timbers Annual Member you have the exclusive opportunity to be the Timbers’ head coach for one of the following three upcoming matches!” Pretty damned funny, especially considering the lack of meaningful updates from the FO on our head coach search. We’ll see how that goes tonight. Kind of strange that they scheduled a big rivalry match mid-week during the World Cup. They’re hoping those “we’ll take it from here” ads running this week during World Cup will get some people to tune in. A Cascadia match usually delivers, although they have felt kind of flat lately.

It’s crazy that Finn didn’t get in as coaches selection or Commissioner’s pick. The announcers highlighted him and his performance as an MLS player in every match he played in the group state of the World Cup, and he even scored a goal. The only thing that makes sense is he’s already traded overseas and they haven’t announced it yet. If you ask me (nobody did) Crépeau  over Pantemis is a bit of a head scratcher too.