Less about the actual soccer, more about being a Portland Timbers fan.
Timbers.com reporting that Jimmy Conway has passed away. Jimmy is one of 5 players in the Timber’s Ring of Honor. Famous for his time in NASL as a Timber, but a bigger legend in Oregon soccer beyond playing days for his contributions in coaching and growing the game in Oregon.
Continue reading “Jimmy Conway – R.I.P.”
Safeway has shad Timbers’ related promotions for several years now, that’s why you see the kids who walk out with the team onto the pitch wearing Safeway T-shirts. Recently I noticed a brand new Diego Chara cutout greeting me at the entrance of my local store, and I was surprised to see that it was a Modelo promo. I was a little bit excited for Diego, glad to see him making some well-deserved extra $, but it mirth have more to do with the Timbers hospitality packages. A few days later I returned to see sa large Jeff Attinella cutout inside a goal, this time with a Coors logo, affiliated with the Safeway/Albertsons Save & Score promotion. I promptly geeked out and stood in the middle of the aisle to take a picture. Ironically, I’ve seen Jeff in person at a few T2 matches and have never taken his picture…
Continue reading “Save and Score, Drink Modelo”This Brian Fernandez guy might be good…
It’s official, we finally have a new DP signing. This is exciting, because it’s not a case of a young guy with a lot of of potential, but rather a proven goal scorer in Liga MX who is still young. Icing on the cake? He’s in mid season form and physical condition. He does come with some baggage, notably that in 2015 he “tested positive for a banned substance” as stated diplomatically by Richard Farley, as well as an extremely recent meltdown on and off the pitch on his last game for Club Necaxa. Here’s hoping that the he knows what the front office and the Timbers Army expect character-wise from anyone who wears the green and gold. The player announcement was also posted separately in Spanish, which is either a first for the club, or quite possibly, something I just haven’t noticed before.
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.
Looks like a case of mistaken identity, or a complete fabrication. No American newspaper is reporting this, and it makes zero sense from a Timbers standpoint.
American newspapers: Management of the American Portland Timpers Club approves a offer from the #الأهلي Saudi club to annex the Argentine games maker (Sebastian Blanco/Sebastian Blanco) 🔶 Portland Administration waiting for the player approval
Twitter
UPDATE: Debunked by Jaimie Goldberg on Twitter on more than one occasion.
It seems like we’re the only team in MLS that hasn’t announced a new roster addition, outside of the SuperDraft. Today we have confirmation of the addition of center back Claude Dielna from the New England Revolution, and the unconfirmed addition of goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic from the Slovenian top division side NK Olimpija Ljubljana. Reaction ranges from excitement over adding another French speaker to the back line with Larrys Mabiala, or lack of excitement over picking up someone that the lowly Revolution doesn’t want anymore. As for the goalkeeper, I guess Gavin and Gio still aren’t ready to recall Kendall McIntosh from his development loan to T2.
Portland Timbers and Liam Ridgewell have mutually agreed to part ways. Liam’s comments in late 2018 implied he didn’t want to have to battle for his position. The Timbers have unquestionably been better with him on the filed for us, that match against the Red Bulls not withstanding. However, he was expensive, and missed a lot of games injured, as well as a handful after butting heads with Saravese. When he was on the pitch and fully engaged we loved him. I’ll remember him for his great distribution, a good hard foul every now and then, and an occasional Ridgy Roll. Well, that and the swimsuits and boating. Richard Farley has nice recap of Ridgy’s tenure on Timbers.com.
Continue reading “So long, Liam”
First we gave them Fanendo Adi mid season. Next, they took Darren Mattocks as their first pick in the expansion draft, and later that day they picked up Kendall Waston in a trade. The day after Christmas we traded them Alvas Powell for some GAM. On January 3rd they made an offer for Ozzie Alonso, and a day later they’ve announced Pa-Modou Kah as an addition to their technical staff. FC Cincinnati is now being referred to as Cascadia East in some online discussions. They could do worse, that’s for sure. And they only have to beat Orlando to not finish last in the east, so they’ve got that going for them too. They could be interesting to watch.
Update: Looks like Minnesota is trying to outbid Cincinnati for Ozzie.
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.
Atlanta United’s Nagbe says playing Portland for MLS Cup is surreal. Read about it in the Atlanta Constitution Journal. It’s a fluff piece, but it has a few interesting tidbits.
Mr Nagbe labeled as “Driver.” on the news, somehow not being interviewed or recognized by anyone at Atlanta’s WSB Tv as a professional soccer player. Surely Darlington had to be cracking up on the inside about the dangers of driving in all this rain man! It’s crazy!
Tip of the hat to Colin Smith
Continue reading “Local Atlanta man interviewed on driving in the rain.”
Ah yes, a trip down memory lane to that time when we had such great hopes, but 1 Taylor on the roster turned out to be 2 too many. The Taylors weren’t conventional brothers, but they were in the Brotherhood of the Own Goal. This is a panel excerpt from a David Squires cartoon in the Guardian extolling the joys of the Australian A League.
A lot of the Timbers fans were scratching their heads when we signed Steve Clark. You also have to wonder what was going through Steve’s head when he found out. It had to be a strange situation, being the guy whose (celebrated) legacy in Portland was giving up a goal to Diego Valeri 27 seconds into our 2015 MLS Cup victory. Sure, he was a backup, backup keeper, and what were the odds that he was going to see playing time? Then Jeff Attinella gets subbed off due to injury at an away game vs New England. After only a few minutes in the game he makes a great save, but coughs up a goal on the rebound. That had to be his worst nightmare, but to his credit, he played well the rest of the game, and the general (informed) consensus is that the was not at fault for that goal.
All of the sudden he has to make his home debut in front of the Timber’s Army. That’s a lot of pressure for any new keeper, let alone someone with Clark’s history.
Continue reading “The Steve Clark Experience.”
Remember those first couple of weeks he was on the team? It seemed like subbing him in was an automatic goal or two. He’s had some highs and lows since then. The last couple of years here have been a little spotty. For some it was hard to reconcile his public plea (through his agent) to be traded shortly after signing a contract extension. Last year he was briefly in the mix for Golden Boot in the beginning of the season but would exit with a nagging injury that ultimately forced him to miss the rest of the season. If you had a nickel for every time Caleb Porter said that Adi would be back to play in 2017, you could probably play a video game or two. The highs were there though, and you can relive all the goals at the Oregonian. When he wasn’t scoring he provided plenty of other highlights in his holdup play, dishing off to others. Grabbing the chainsaw after his brace against Seattle and his gam winning goal on his final match have definitely secured his legacy in Portland. I can’t think of a better way to leave on a high note. Strange how an obviously talented player with impressive stats can lose value to team because he doesn’t fit the way a team plays. The mechanics of managing an MLS squad are hard to comprehend. And now he’s off to FC Cincinnati, who might even loan him out to Montreal. Timbers.com has a nice video tribute to Adi, who seems like he really appreciated his time here in Portland. So long, Adi. Thanks for all that you did for PTFC.
X = out due to injury.
Red rectangle = Red card suspension.
Scribble = Unavailable due to international duty.
Out of the 14 guys available to play, 2 of them are backup goalies…
Alternate post title: Rostarmagedon. ( Roster + Armageddon )
[Graphic: Alpha Wilson]
2016 hangover is officially over. What happened in the off season? Not so surprisingly, we learned that Nat Borchers and Lucas Melano would not be returning, while Rodney Wallace’s return to MLS did not go as many hoped. We raided Saprissa for David Guzman and Roy Miller. An all too familiar preseason, season-ending injury to Gbenga Arokoyo sealed the fate of Jack McInerney. We managed to keep Darlington Nagbe off the Celtic roster, and saw him return to the USMNT after Klinsman got fired. We added a former teammate of Diego Valeri in Sebastián Blanco, a player who in preseason already looks like he’s been with the team for a year. Meanwhile, completely unexpected Superdraft acquisition Jeremy Ebobisse has been quietly tearing it up in the CONCACAF U-20 Championships. Developing talent or developed talent? It’s an odd numbered year, so we’re already in a good spot, but things sure are looking rosy! Bring it on!
Stumptown Footy with news and analysis of roster changes and the expansion draft.
Timbers Announce First Round of Changes from 2016 Roster; Trade for International Roster Slot
Read it: Stumptown Footy
MLS Announces Expansion Draft Protected Lists
Read it: Stumptown Footy
Ahh.. Nutmeg News. Thanks for this.
Despite Excitement Over MLS Cup Win, Sounders Fan Decides To Not Re-Watch Game
Read it: The Nutmeg News
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.
Continue reading “Porter Bullish on Rodney Wallace while scouting in Costa Rica”
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]
Steven Taylor looks a little bit like Gary Numan. On the left, an uncredited photo from a Stumptown Footy article that chronicles Steven Taylor’s disastrous debut appearance for T2 over the weekend, in which he scored an own goal in the first 9 minutes, and shared the blame for at least one of the other goals before being subbed off after 60 minutes. He’s really getting raked over the coals in the UK Press. On the right, a picture of Gary Numan during a vintage performance of Are Friends Electric?. Numan was younger than Taylor when the video was shot. I could have chosen a later era picture of Numan for the comparison, but then I wouldn’t be able to include the video after the jump.
Big thanks to the supporter who put this up in our neighborhood! ?? pic.twitter.com/fCF11WgShs
— Nat Borchers (@natborchers) July 24, 2016
All the predictions are saying achilles tendon injury, which could mean the end of Nat’s career, especially at his age. We’re hoping for the best, Nat.
UPDATE: Speculation was correct. Nat Borchers did intact future his achilles tendon and will be out for the rest of the season. It’s a blow to the Timbers for sure, but a bigger one for Nat. Portland feels for you Nat!
There’s a nice bit of fluff in the UK edition of Yahoo Sports about Liam Ridgewell’s negotiation to extend his contract with Portland. The is excellent news. Common wisdom around Stumptown Footy had been he was most like not coming back, as evidenced by his recurring loan stints to English teams during our off season, and the fact that his children still live in the U.K. It’s not that they think he doesn’t like it here, more that they thought this was just an interesting, but limited diversion for Liam, and he would soon want to return home. So this is good news. The bad news for Liam atlas, is that journalists in the U.K. have apparently forgot what he looks like. A day after the article was published, it still shows a picture of Lucas Melano captioned as Liam Ridgewell.
