—by Chris Rifer

It was easy on Friday night to watch the Timbers get crushed in Salt Lake and conclude that the sky may be falling on a 2013 campaign that once harbored so much promise.  Indeed, the Timbers haven’t put in a performance that flat, that disorganized, and that utterly inferior since August of 2012.

But consider that Real Salt Lake are the unquestioned best team in MLS right now.  And further consider that the Timbers were playing without a slew of first choice players, including Captain Will Johnson, utility man and first mate Jack Jewsbury, most of their center backs, and Frederic Piquionne – a player who was valuable not just for his attacking prowess, but also his set piece defending.  And finally consider that the Timbers lost Jewsbury’s utility understudy, Ben Zemanski, to a flukey-for-him red card just before halftime.

Banged up.  On the road.  A man down.  Against the best team in MLS.  In the grand scheme, 4-2 isn’t that surprising.

And consider even further that in the disastrous opening fifteen minutes the Timbers were employing a defensive strategy foreign to them outside the final moments of a match in which the team needs a goal and is throwing caution to the proverbial wind.  Now, the failed 3-4-3 experiment Porter ran on Friday, at least with the team he put on the field, is unlikely to recur.  Caleb Porter is a smart guy.  What you, I, and the rest of the viewing public saw from the Timbers defense to open the game on Friday is also utterly obvious to Porter.  Don’t expect to see that again soon.

So, while Friday felt awful in the moment, a number of one-off conditions in that game substantially limit its contagion.

The next cause for concern extends beyond the struggles in Sandy and into the Timbers’ general form over the last several games.  But taking a step back and examining the last four reveals that – while not ideal – the Timbers four points in four games is eminently understandable.

The Timbers beat FC Dallas in a game in which both teams played pretty well.  Portland drew RSL at home in a strange outing marred by a referee who wanted to compete with the teams on the field for the right to determine the outcome of the match.  Next, the Timbers lost a close game to a hot Seattle team despite being on the road and facing an absurd selection crisis in the most important position on the field.  Finally, as discussed above, the Timbers fell to Salt Lake under less-than-ideal conditions.

While Portland probably feels like they left points on the table at home against RSL, it’s hard to call four points through those four games an unacceptable result.  Imperfect?  You bet.  Disastrous?  No way.

Even after all that, the Timbers still sit tied for fourth, with three winnable games on the horizon against Toronto FC, at Chivas USA, and home again to Colorado.  If Portland can win all three of those – a possibility that is certainly realistic, if perhaps not necessarily probable – it’s hard to see the Timbers any lower than third in the West with a growing gap between them and the red line.

Thereafter, the Timbers get to face each of the other three prime candidates for the coveted top-three conference spots at home in the season’s final five weeks, giving the club the opportunity to control its own destiny from the friendly confines of Jeld-Wen Field.

In that way, the Timbers’ remaining eight games are close to perfectly set up.  Winnable matches on the road and Western Conference rivals at home, where Portland still hasn’t lost since March 9^th.

So, while Portland would prefer to be sitting more comfortably in the table at the moment, their present position and finishing stretch of games sets them up nicely to bring playoff soccer back to Portland.

Yes, what happened in Salt Lake was frustrating, but in no way is it a sign of an imminent apocalypse.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

It was always going to be difficult for the Timbers in Seattle without Will Johnson and Diego Chara.  But for forty-five minutes on Saturday, the Portland Timbers were dominant, carving their way through the Seattle midfield with ease.  But as has become a habit in big road fixtures, they failed to capitalize.  And when Seattle found their inevitable goal on a set piece in the second half, Portland was left to rue what could have been, but wasn’t on account of their lack of opportunism.

The Timbers opened the chances in the third minute, when Diego Valeri found Jack Jewsbury on a deep corner kick, but Captain Jack’s looping header was cleared off the line on DeAndre Yedlin.

Just two minutes later, Seattle would just miss their first set piece chance.  After Brad Evans served a ball beyond the backpost, Shalrie Joseph got free head to it, but sent it poorly wide with Donovan Ricketts caught in no-man’s land.

Perhaps the Timbers’ best chance of the night came in the 16^th minute, when Diego Valeri found Ryan Johnson on a beautifully designed and weighted through ball, but Johnson couldn’t get his feet right and Michael Gspurning was quick off his line to take the ball off the Jamaican’s boots.

Portland flirted with the spectacular in the 34^th minute, but once again came up with nothing.  After Kalif Alhassan did well to gather a partial clearance from a Rodney Wallace cross, he and Darlington Nagbe played to Valeri 25 yards out.  The Maestro rocketed a shot through the Seattle defense that Gspurning could do nothing about, only to be denied by the far post.

Three minutes later, MLS Headquarters very nearly erupted into self-congratulatory euphoria.  After the Sounders did nicely to work the ball around to Leo Gonzalez on the left wing, he sent a cross into Clint Dempsey—who plays for Seattle now, if you hadn’t heard—but Deuce’s touch was too heavy and Ricketts came off his line to deflect the ball out for the Timbers defense to clear.

The Timbers weren’t done with their first half onslaught, however.  Sparked by a brilliant Darlington Nagbe run down the right side in first half stoppage time, the prodigy sent a nicely shaped ball to Johnson at the far post, but Yedlin and Gspurning combined to block Johnson’s header.

After dominating much of the first half missing their entire central midfield, the Timbers proved they could play toe-to-toe with Seattle even in their current setup.

The second half would bring Portland back down to earth.

Seattle struck in the 60^th minute, when second half entrant Mauro Rosales sent a set piece from the left wing into the box, where Eddie Johnson beat Alvas Powell to it and flicked inside the far post.

The Timbers made noises about getting it back two minutes later, when Jose Valencia harried Gspurning into a hurried clearance that Kalif Alhassan picked off and took to the top of the box, but the Austrian keeper made a diving save to his left.

But the second half belonged to the Sounders, and in the seventieth minute they would’ve made it two but for some heroics from Ricketts.  After Rosales got free down the left, his cross was partially deflected by Alvas Powell, but nevertheless fell to Eddie Johnson at the far post.  Johnson’s header looked goalbound, but Ricketts reacted instantly to knock the ball away.  Dempsey tried to bicycle home the rebound, but caught nothing but Powell—which apparently isn’t a foul anymore.[1]

Five minutes later, Deuce found himself on the end of another Rosales corner, but his header—which may have been off target—was partially cleared by Valeri before Ricketts gathered a reentry cross after a scrum in front of goal.

Try as they might, however, the Timbers couldn’t find their first half attacking verve to make a serious run at the equalizer.  In the 88^th minute, Nagbe put his foot through a ball from twenty yards, but Gspurning saw it the whole way and tapped over the bar.  The last gasp would come well into stoppage time, when a deflected cross found its way to Andrew Jean-Baptiste in the box, but his well-nodded header to the far post was captured by Gspurning to secure the win.

With the odds stacked against them in the absence of their central midfield, the Timbers put together a solid performance, especially in the first half.  But, as the Timbers have learned on multiple occasions, solid performances mean very little if you don’t get the result.

And on Sunday evening in Seattle, the Timbers once again failed to get their result, making a once-smooth path the playoffs look increasingly perilous.

Notes & Observations

• Porter’s tactics surprised me a little bit once again, but this time to his credit.  With the central midfield so banged up, I expected Portland to play a little bit more compact and choose an area of the field on which to focus their attack, so as to provide a little more cover to the central midfielders.  Rather, the Timbers spread the field and pushed both fullbacks forward, dropping Jack Jewsbury very deep.  This put a lot of faith in Jewsbury and Alhassan to not get burned, as it was inevitable the Timbers would be opened up once or twice.  The makeshift central midfielders both did well in this respect, and the Timbers—especially Diego Valeri—terrorized Seattle in the spaces these tactics created in the middle.
• It’s incredible Ozzie Alonso escaped the book on Sunday.  On the night he committed five fouls, all of which were entirely tactical, and most coming from behind with no play on the ball.  Alonso staying out of the book was a significant advantage for the Sounders, as anytime Nagbe got loose, Alonso could chop him down with impunity.  If Alonso goes into the book sometime around halftime—as, by all rights, he should have—the Timbers would have likely had an easier time finding space in the center of the field.

Timbers Grades

Donovan Ricketts, 6.5 Came up huge on a number of occasions.  Nothing he could do about the concession, but his grade is deflated just a little bit by a couple avoidable spills.

Michael Harrington, 5.5 A pretty classic Harrington night.  Didn’t contribute anything of note to the attack other than the secondary effect of the spacing created by his presence, but defended competently.  If you’re dissatisfied with this performance from Harrington, you’re never going to be able to appreciate Mikey.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste, 6 Had a pretty tough task going back and forth between Dempsey and Eddie Johnson, and his backline generally acquitted itself well.

Pa Modou Kah, 3.5 Also had a decent game in defense, as he took the brunt of the Deuce onslaught and kept him relatively quiet.  His grade suffers, however, for picking up a yellow card and begging to be sent off in the scrum.  The Timbers will be without Kah for at least one match, if not more if the Disciplinary Committee has something to say about it.  With a dearth of options at center back right now, Kah really hurt the Timbers’ playoff chances on Sunday night.

Alvas Powell, 5 Struggled a little bit in the attack despite getting down the line well, but had his best defensive game as a Timber.  Lamar Neagle got by him a time or two, but for the most part the youngster won that battle.  His only big sin was a decisive one, however, as he lost Johnson on the concession.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 Really good, pragmatic performance from Jack at the pivot point on Sunday.  He had a big task, as the Sounders were set up to attack up the gut by dropping Dempsey deeper and having Johnson play over the top of him, but, especially in the first half, the Timbers forced Seattle to send crosses in from the wings, where Jean-Baptiste and Kah could clean up.

Kalif Alhassan, 5.5 Tremendous first half.  Anonymous second half.  Kalif was the player Porter asked the most of on Saturday, as—although he played up at times—he was tasked with being the second defensive central midfielder.  For a position he’d never played, Kalif did a nice job of breaking up passing lanes and—after a nervy first few minutes—launching the attack from deeper central positions than he’s used to.

Rodney Wallace, 6 Popped up all over the field on Sunday.  Did most of his damage from his usual advanced spot on the left wing, but floated centrally and even flipped to the right for a period during the second half.

Diego Valeri, 7 Didn’t get much of an opportunity to make his mark on the second half, as the Timbers deeper midfield players struggled to find him to relieve pressure.  But he was far and away the best player on the field in the first half, just missing both a magnificent assist and a surefire Goal of the Week.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 Spent most of his night being fouled by Alonso.  Nagbe was the one Timber that was a little bit quieter in the first half.  He made up for it in the second, as he was the Timbers’ most dangerous player when he found space to run into in wide areas, usually only to be sent to the turf by Alonso without real punishment from the referee.

Ryan Johnson, 3 He did some of his usual nice work when he floated deeper, but, in the end, his wastefulness in finishing doomed the Timbers.

Jose Valencia, 6 Trencito’s work rate has improved substantially over the course of the last several weeks, and it’s starting to pay dividends for the Timbers.  On Wednesday, it was his effort that forced a poor clearance that Alhassan fired home for the third goal.  On Sunday, his pressure again forced a poor clearance that Kalif nearly put back for the equalizer.

Sal Zizzo, 5 Came on for Powell and assumed a position on the right side of midfield.  Did nicely to work into space on the touchline a number of times, but also had a couple crucial overhit crosses.

Ben Zemanski, 5 Came on for Jewsbury late, but didn’t do a whale of a lot in the attack.

Preseason Prediction: Sounders 1, Timbers 0.  Alonso.

Actual Result Sounders 1, Timbers 0.  Johnson.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

In hindsight, it should have been predictable.  Coming into Wednesday, there was every reason to believe we’d see two quality teams put on a classy performance.  Rather, on Wednesday night at Jeld-Wen Field the Timbers Army was treated to two good teams playing disjointed soccer, and a referee with aspirations for stardom.

For a while, however, it looked like the Timbers were going to be able to run away with this one.  In the fourth minute, Alvas Powell raced up the right side and sent a ball into the box for nobody in particular.  Nat Borchers was there, but made a mess of the clearance, which only got as far as Diego Valeri eight yards from goal.  With only Jeff Attinella, RSL’s backup keeper, to beat, Valeri sent his shot off the far post.

But the Timbers weren’t done.  While RSL had their share of the ball, their defense looked lost in the absence of Kyle Beckerman.  In the 24^th minute, the Timbers found their goal.  After Valeri sent a perfectly bent free kick from the left wing into the box, Rodney Wallace raced his way to the end of it and finished routinely with his head.

For the next fifteen minutes, the Timbers were dangerous, but couldn’t find the goal that would make the game a laugher.  Instead, RSL found one that would make it interesting.  After Valeri bungled an ill-advised bicycle clearance under pressure from Javi Morales, the veteran Argentine sent a ball into the box where Robbie Findley got open head to it.  Donovan Ricketts made a fantastic save falling to his right, but the rebound fell straight to Borchers who easily tapped home.

Enter referee Ricardo Salazar.  Five minutes later, after Khari Stephenson rocketed a swerving shot that Ricketts could only get his chest in front of, the ball bounced to—and away from—Morales under pressure from Jean-Baptiste.  The young central defender had his arm across Morales’s chest and, feeling the touch, the dive master dramatically threw himself to the ground to Salazar’s delight.  Morales coolly stepped to the spot and slotted past an incorrectly guessing Ricketts.

Going into the locker room in full meltdown, the Timbers came back out and slowly began to right the ship.  They almost drew level in the 50^th minute, when Valeri found Ryan Johnson all alone at the backpost on a free kick from the left wing, but Attinella was quick off his line and made himself big to snuff out the chance.

If the Jeld-Wen Field crowd thought Salazar was biased, however, the much-maligned referee put that notion to rest in the 56^th minute by whistling a penalty the other way just as soft as the first.  After Darlington Nagbe found Rodney Wallace with a very nice vertical pass, the ball bounced up on the edge of the area and hit Brandon McDonald in his unintentionally semi-outstretched arm.  The ball fell to Wallace who looked poised to gather and send back into the center for Valeri, but, despite having to his avail the far less dramatic options of placing the ball just outside the area or swallowing his whistle altogether, Salazar fancied himself once again and awarded the Timbers a penalty.  Diego Valeri—despite a startling finishing slump—stepped to the spot and beat Attinella.

From there, for the first time in the game, both teams looked like they were settling into their rhythm.  Although the Timbers were playing with a little bit more desperation, the next twenty minutes saw some of the best soccer of the night.  After a nice piece of buildup from the Claret-and-Cobalt, Findley unleashed a shot form the left side of the box that looked goalward but for a deflection from Pa Modou Kah.  On the other end, Valeri was set up beautifully after Alvas Powell—who put together a nice little second half for himself—made a long run up the right side and set the maestro through in the box, but good nearpost positioning from Attinella forced Valeri to be too cute and send the ball into the side netting.

For Salazar, however, this was too much of the teams on the field deciding the game.  So, in the 79^th minute, the referee took matters into his own hands and gave Yordany Alvarez a red card for the sin of being a split second late to challenge Diego Chara for the ball.  Alvarez went in one-legged and side-footed, so as to keep his studs away from Chara’s leg.  It was the sort of challenge that can bruise a shin and hurt like a mother, but was ultimately not that dangerous.  But that was enough for Salazar, and that was it for Alvarez.

And for a few moments, it looked like Salazar’s gratuitous red card would decide the game.  After Powell sent a nice cross from the touchline into the box, Jose Valencia challenged Borchers for the ball just enough that his clearance could only find Kalif Alhassan ten yards out, where he took a touch and fired inside the far post.

As it stood, the result was great for the Timbers, if perhaps a little bit uncomfortable for Lady Justice.[1]

Some gut-wrenching justice would be served in second half stoppage time, leaving fans of both the Timbers and soccer ambivalent[2] about the result.  A couple minutes into stoppage time, after Tony Beltran squeezed the ball away from Ryan Miller and Diego Chara, Luis Gil sent a ball into the box that was knocked away by Jean-Baptiste only so far as Cole Grossman, who fired it back in past Ricketts for the equalizer.

In the end, walking out of Jeld-Wen Field on Saturday had an empty feeling.  A game that had so much potential on so many levels left something to be desired in many ways.  Even if the match was marred by Salazar’s hyperactivity, the Timbers were ultimately undone by their lack of focus and grit.

Now wouldn’t be a bad time to find those brass balls again.

Notes & Observations

• I’m reluctant to draw too many sweeping conclusions from Wednesday because it was just a really strange game.  Portland didn’t play all that well, but they weren’t horrible.  RSL—as is to be expected from a Jason Kreis team—overperformed considering the absence of several key players.  In the end, there was just enough randomness to the evening to make it dangerous to take too much away from the game.  That said, I’m undeterred in making a handful of observations.
• I thought the Timbers really missed Will Johnson on Wednesday.  While his absence has been felt tangibly on the field, it’s hard not to notice the vastly increased frequency of the Timbers’ mental lapses in his absence.  From the concession against Dallas to the poor reaction to almost every major moment against RSL, Portland’s lack of steadiness and grit has been marked the last couple weeks.
• I’m really not sure what to make of the Timbers’ tactics on Wednesday.  For one, there were extended stretches where the game was frantic enough that there wasn’t much in the way of tactical soccer.  When the Timbers did slide into their system, they tended to play unbalanced favoring the right side of the field – the opposite of their normal tendency.  This included often bringing Rodney Wallace into the center of the field, both offensively and defensively, where he looked a little bit lost at times.  Even more unusual, however, was that Portland was still aggressive with Alvas Powell—their right back.  Typically when the Timbers play an unbalanced midfield, they bring the opposite fullback forward to provide a switch outlet.  On Wednesday, however, the Timbers often pushed the fullback forward on the same side they had skewed the midfield, which would occasionally let Wallace leak out to the left to provide the switch.  Ultimately, this led to mixed results, as the Timbers looked a little lost tactically at times, especially Valeri and Nagbe, and left Michael Harrington exposed a time or two.

—by Mike Coleman

It seems strange that his even needs to be said, I mean we're all adults here (except for the kids, they're kids). But, alas, it appears it does need to be said: Don't steal the flags.

They're not a Darlington Nagbe face or a set of Alaska Airlines pins or a House of Pane shirt - in short, they're not your free gift for showing up and sitting in the north end.

Those flags that you feel entitled to abscond off with are bought and paid for with 107ist dollars. These are also the same dollars that fund our community giving - you know, like when we buy uniforms for kids in need or build an accessible playground or refurbish soccer fields around Portland. They're also the same dollars that go to fund our large-scale tifo displays.

So when you take a flag, and we have to buy a replacement - that's money that doesn't go to advancing our mission to support soccer from the grassroots to the highest level. It's money that goes to replace something we already had.

Now, I'm sure you, constant reader, aren't the person who actually steals the flags. But, maybe you've seen one of these clowns perpetrating said nefarious act. If so, take action!

Kindly ask the person what they're doing, explain the flags are not theirs to keep (they're all stamped 'property of the 107ist', and kindly ask for it back .

I certainly don't want anyone to get punched in the nose over a flag, so if they get obnoxious find a capo and let them know. Capos know who our internal TA security folks are and we can deal with it. If no capo is handy, you can always alert an usher. Or you can point at the fool, and begin chanting "don't steal the flag" - get others to join in - it'll be fun.

Finally, if you do have a flag in your possession, we will always grant you amnesty if you return it. Just bring it back to the stadium, and leave it - poke it through the fence if you have to.

No questions asked.

—by Chris Rifer

Over the course of the last several weeks The Morrison Report has thrown a good number of stones at the MLS and its Roster Rules.  While the Rules’ secrecy has been the primary target of our criticism, the events of the past several weeks have also exposed some of the convolution within the current MLS Roster Rules.

But criticism without construction is just curmudgeonry.  So, here at The Morrison Report, we’re going to pretend we got our paws on the wide-ruled spiral notebook in which Don Garber keeps his No. 2 pencil-written Roster Rules.

First, a few ground rules.  We’re not going to fundamentally change MLS’s roster system.  So the salary cap will still exist in The Morrison Report’s alternate universe, the designated player rule won’t be scrapped, and allocation money is here to stay.  These are the golden calves, so to speak, that may not be slain.

A quick note on what The Morrison Report’s system attempts to do.  First, it tries to replace MLS’s convoluted system of allocation rankings and drafts with more market-oriented mechanisms such as free agency, rights of first refusal, and allocation money compensation.  This puts extra onus on the salary cap, then, to maintain parity throughout MLS and prevent it from becoming a league of haves and have-nots.  Accordingly, many of the salary cap rules have become harsher.  Simply put, The Morrison Report’s system gives teams more rope with which they can go out and sign players, but ensures that it never more than just enough for the clubs to hang themselves by.  This system thus attempts to reward good management of a club from the academy level through Designated Players, while harshly punishing mismanagement.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether the following system accomplishes these goals, or even whether these goals are well conceived in the first place.  Also, we at The Morrison Report know none of this will ever happen.

With that said, over the course of the next 2,000-odd words, we’re going to work Commissioner Garber’s No. 2 pencil eraser down to the metal and make multiple trips to the pencil sharpener.

Player Acquisition Mechanisms

Allocation Ranking

New Rule: Forget about it.  Abolished.

Commentary: A rule once designed to ensure parity has become MLS’s favorite section of the Roster Rules to skirt through less-than-transparent means.  Parity is why MLS has the salary cap, so the new rule is simple: If you have the cap space to sign a returning MLS or current USNMT player, knock yourself out.

Designated Player

New Rule: The DP rule largely remains the same, including the young designated player rules.  It is worth clarifying, however, that the DP rule is exclusively a salary cap accounting mechanism.  It is not an exception to any other allocation rule.  Teams still get two slots, with the option to purchase a third.

Commentary: The DP rule’s interaction with a handful of other rules will change, however, most notably with the Amnesty Rule.

Rookie Acquisitions

Commentary: Currently, the SuperDraft and Homegrown Player rules are the primary mechanisms through which teams acquire young American talent coming into the League.  With the growth of development academies, however, the HGP rule has waxed in prominence while the SuperDraft has begun to slowly wane.

As Nick Firchau wrote in May, the current HGP system may present a significant threat to League parity due to the regional disparity of youth talent around the country.  Thus, the rule changes below are designed to address this disparity potential while incentivizing clubs to keep building their academies.

The current system shuffles players into one of two boxes, either they must sign an HGP contract with their parent club or enter the SuperDraft.  The Morrison Report’s system largely eliminates these boxes, while maintaining some of the HGP benefits.

New Rules:

Eligibility – A player may be an HGP if he plays at least two seasons for a club’s official U-16 or U-18 development academy team. [1]  During those two seasons, the player must be on the academy team’s active roster for 60% of its official games, excluding games that a player misses as a result of a call from a national team.[2]

Academy Player Acquisition – Teams may still sign as many of their HGP eligible players as they want every year.  One such player every year is eligible to be an HGP whose salary does not count against the team’s salary cap for the first two years of the player’s first professional contract.

Teams no longer have the exclusive right to sign their HGP-eligible academy players, however.  Rather, any club can sign them, provided that the parent club has a first right of refusal on any contract an HGP-eligible player signs with another MLS club.  So, for example, if a Portland academic signs with Real Salt Lake for $100,000 per year, the Timbers would have the opportunity to sign the player on those same terms.

Moreover, if another team signs one of a club’s HGP-eligible academics, the parent club shall receive allocation money in the amount of the player’s average annual salary – 50% paid by the purchasing club and 50% paid by the League.  The total amount of allocation money a club can earn through this method annually is capped at the amount of salary cap space occupied by a designated player.  Thus, if an academy is cranking out MLS-ready prospects left and right, it can turn that into a salary cap cash cow that can pay for up to a DP’s cap hit every year.  It promotes parity, however, because teams in talent-rich areas can’t monopolize their academy players, as other teams can sign academics subject to the first right of refusal and compensation provisions.[3]

Because clubs will now be able to sign other club’s academy players, we should also provide a scouting mechanism.  It is my pleasure to introduce the MLS Academy Cup; two 10-day tournaments (one U-16, the other U-18) played over the course of 17 days in December after the MLS Cup Playoffs.[4]  This would give MLS teams an opportunity to scout other clubs’ academy players in person.  Additionally, every game would be broadcast on MLS Live, making the Academy Cup a medicine four-out-of-five doctors would recommend to remedy Offseasonal Affective Disorder (O-SAD), and an opportunity to showcase talent to college coaches across the country.

Non-Academy Player Acquisition – The SuperDraft is gone.  Teams are welcome to recruit and sign as many rookies as they can accommodate within their salary structure.

MLS Signing Day – Rather than the SuperDraft, MLS has a two-hour special where each club reveals its annual rookie class – HGPs, other academy players, and non-academy players – and the top 20 players announce their signings live on national television.  Teams are prohibited from announcing signings of rookie players before Singing Day.  This is the drama of NCAA recruiting, the absurdity of silly season, and excitement of the NBA Draft all rolled into one process culminating on MLS Signing Day.

Trades

New Rule: No change to the substantive rules.

Discovery Signings

New Rule: The language will have to be tinkered with to clarify its applicability, and there are certainly mechanisms in the current rule that aren’t spelled out publicly,[5] but the only major change is that a discovery claim no longer gives a team an exclusive right to sign a player.  Rather, it only serves to give the team a first right of refusal on the player for one season.

Commentary: For example, if Portland puts a discovery claim on a player, but Seattle offers the player a better contract than Portland and the player agrees to the terms of the Seattle contract, the Timbers would have the choice of signing the player on Seattle’s terms or relinquishing the discovery claim and letting the player go to the Sounders without any form of compensation.

Re-Entry Process

New Rule: Abolished.  An MLS player whose contract expires or whose option isn’t picked up just becomes a free agent.

Commentary:  I don’t even understand why this exists now.

Waivers

New Rule: No change.

Weighted Lottery

New Rule: Abolished.  Any player that would have been eligible for Signing Day, but that chooses to enter into an MLS contract after Signing Day is a free agent.  If such a player is HGP eligible with one club, but signs with another club after Signing Day, the parent club retains the first right of refusal and, if the right is not exercised, must be similarly compensated.

Commentary: Notably, there will be little incentive for young players to do this because waiting longer only makes it more likely that their desired club would lack the salary structure to accommodate their contract.

Player Release Mechanisms

These are the mechanisms for getting a player off of a club’s salary cap books.  These really aren’t especially controversial.  Accordingly, there are only a handful of significant changes in The Morrison Report’s universe.

Buyout of a Guaranteed Contract (Amnesty Rule)

New Rule:  At any time during an offseason, a team may buy out the guaranteed contract of one player, and the player’s contract will no longer count against the salary cap.  A team that exercises the Amnesty Rule, however, may not use the Rule to buy out another contract in any of the next four offseasons.  If a team uses the Amnesty Rule to buy out the contract of a Designated Player, the team will receive relief from the salary cap space that player occupied, but the Designated Player slot filled by the former player’s contract will remain occupied until the natural expiry of the original contract.

Commentary:  The Amnesty Rule is one of the potentially largest disparity creators in the MLS rulebook.  Currently, it permits teams to buy out one contract per offseason, and have the balance not count against the salary cap.  While the team is still responsible for paying the balance of the contract to the player, it can serve to free up substantial salary cap space every year.

This is a huge advantage for wealthy clubs that can absorb the financial hit of paying a player to do nothing.  Currently, such a club can roll the dice on major signings, and if the player doesn’t work out, cut them loose in the offseason without any salary cap consequences.  For many clubs, however, sinking major costs like that is financially infeasible.  Thus, this makes it much easier for big clubs like L.A. Galaxy, Seattle, and Portland to be aggressive, perhaps reckless, with major signings.

The Morrison Report’s rules cut this back by allowing a team to exercise the Amnesty Rule only once every five years.

Designated Players in Trades and Contract Renegotiations

New Rules: If a Designated Player is traded among MLS teams, he must occupy a DP slot for either the buying team or the selling team for the natural length[6] of his DP contract.  A buying team may minimize the DP’s salary cap hit if the selling team swallows a portion of the contract – which counts against the selling team’s salary cap allocation – but the player’s contract must still occupy a DP slot for either the buying or selling team.

Similarly, if a DP renegotiates his contract with his current club at any point during the period of the contract so as to drop his compensation below DP levels, the player will continue to occupy a DP slot for the natural length of the original contract.  The team may free up salary cap space by renegotiating the contract, but it may not free up a DP slot.

The End.

Onward, Rose City.

—by Chris Rifer

It’s nice to have this feeling again in the Rose City.  Looking out over Jeld-Wen Field on Saturday evening, with the Timbers Army in full pregame voice, and Portland and Dallas warming up below, it was impossible to escape the feeling that this game carried significant consequences.  Win, and the Timbers would look poised to make a serious run at the Supporters Shield in the final third of the season.  Lose, and Portland’s playoff hopes would dangle perilously above the red line with the team mired in its most serious slump of the year.

On Saturday night, behind a dazzling performance from Diego Valeri, a tireless outing from Diego Chara, and clinical finishes from Darlington Nagbe and Ryan Johnson, the Timbers gained a vital foothold in the Western Conference playoff race and downed FC Dallas 2-1.

It wasn’t for lack of trying on the Burn’s part, however.  Themselves stuck in a rut, Dallas come out buzzing in the midfield behind Jackson and Fabian Castillo.  In the 15^th minute, Jackson found space 25 yards from goal and ripped a hard, swerving shot from distance, but Donovan Ricketts got a shoulder in front of it, and parried away.

That spark that had been missing from the Portland attack was found early on, however.  21 minutes in, Ben Zemanski came up with an interception in the midfield and played a give-and-go to Valeri to set the Argentine through on goal in the box.  Valeri’s first touch betrayed him, however, and he pushed his open effort well wide.

If Valeri has been out of his element with his own finishing touch recently, he’s been nothing short of spectacular in creating chances for others.  In the 26^th minute, Valeri sent a picture perfect corner into the center of the box, where Ryan Johnson easily out-jumped George John at the top of the six to emphatically nod home.

The tension that had mounted as a result of the stretch of middling results and the gravity of the game seemed to evaporate with Johnson’s headed finish.  Perhaps even a little bit too much.

Two minutes later, Dallas got back in the game.  After Fabian Castillo worked a quick give-and-go with Blas Perez, the Colombian played Mauro Diaz into the box, where, unlike Valeri, he coolly slotted past a helpless Ricketts.

And Dallas wasn’t done.  Four minutes later, it was Jackson causing problems for the Timbers backline.  The Brazilian beat Andrew Jean-Baptiste and worked his way to the byline, where he cut a pass back across the box for David Ferreira.  Ferreira gathered and fired, but in a moment of good fortune for the Timbers, his shot sailed just over the bar.

If the Timbers’ initial reaction to conceding was nervy, their reaction to the near miss was decisive.  In the 33^rd minute, Valeri was back to magic making.  After Diego Chara won two aerial balls in a matter of seconds, Valeri gathered and played a perfectly weighted pass to Nagbe on his right.  Nagbe, with room to take his habitual touch, controlled and fired past Raul Fernandez to put Portland back in front.

Despite plenty of vivacious play from both teams, neither side could continue the torrid pace that saw three goals in seven minutes, and the teams retreated into halftime at 2-1.

There was no retreat in Dallas out of the locker room, however.  In the 50^th minute, David Ferreira got in behind Alvas Powell and eventually found Michel on the left side, but Perez made a mess of the ensuing cross.

By the hour mark, Portland had their foot back on the game.  In the 63^rd minute, Portland broke out and set Rodney Wallace free down the left.  Nagbe and Johnson’s runs in the box were well-covered, however, so Wallace took a crack himself that Fernandez did well to knock away.

The pressure largely relieved form Portland’s backline, FC Dallas were left to hope that they could grab an equalizing goal against the run of play.  Their prayers were almost answered in the 75^th minute, when Ramon Nunez gathered a long ball and found an inch of space 25 yards out, but his shot skidded just wide of the far post.

Three minutes later, Ramon Nunez smashed a dangerous free kick into the wall, but it bounced right to Castillo on the left side of the box.  Despite a whole wave of Hoops at the back post, Erick’s header went high.

From there, Dallas looked burned out, as the Timbers comfortably played the game out by holding the ball far from Donovan Ricketts and the Portland defense.

The three points put Portland within striking distance of the top of the table with the Conference leading Claret-and-Cobalt coming to town on Wednesday.

It looks like it’s time to get used to that feeling.

Notes & Observations

• While Saturday wasn’t the Timbers’ most dominant performance, a lot of that had to do with Dallas playing pretty well. Castillo and Jackson were really feeling it, causing the Timbers real problems in the middle for pretty good chunks of the game. Nonetheless, the 2-1 result was well deserved; as for most of the game Portland was the better team.
• Portland’s first half tactics were interesting considering the lineup they put on the field.  As we’ve seen before, the Timbers stretched their center backs out wide when they were attacking and dropped a central midfielder into the hole just in front of the backline. This allowed both fullbacks to get forward and opened up the spaces in the center that Valeri had a field day in. It’s not that this tactic is unusual for the Timbers, as they’ve employed it a number of times, but it is unusual with Rodney Wallace in the lineup, as he seems to enjoy chalk on his boots.
• I would be surprised if Portland didn’t reprise this strategy against RSL.  With Kyle Beckerman suspended, the Timbers will be eager once again to exploit central spaces. If Portland’s center backs are again spread out, Salt Lake should counter by starting Joao Plata for the second consecutive match. Plata’s pernicious pace is potentially poised to punish Portland’s protective positioning.

Timbers Grades

Donovan Ricketts, 6.5 He didn’t make any amazing saves, but his placement on Saturday was outstanding, as a number of otherwise dangerous FCD shots hit him right in the numbers.

Alvas Powell, 4 Calmed down in the last half hour, and put in some nice work during that period, but Powell was the defense’s weakest link by some distance on Saturday, including being one bookend of the considerable space that Diaz ran into to equalize.

Pa Modou Kah, 6 One of his better games as a Timber.  Although his grade is deflated a little because he and Powell left the space for Diaz, Kah generally dealt well with the extra brunt of Dallas’s attack he absorbed as a result of Powell being to his right.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste, 5 Not AJB’s best outing, as he was beaten once or twice more than we’re used to.  Still, he didn’t make any major mistakes and frustrated the daylights out of Blas Perez.

Michael Harrington, 5.5 Another solid performance from Harrington.  Got forward a little bit, though he didn’t necessarily make the most of that.  His defending, however, has been nothing if not reliable over the last several weeks.

Diego Chara, 7.5 This was a difficult game for Diego, as the combination of Portland pushing numbers forward and Dallas’s variety of options in midfield made it so that Chara had to cover a lot of ground.  Even when Dallas’s offense was clicking, however, Chara was up to the task.

Ben Zemanski, 6.5 It was clear Dallas didn’t regard him as much of an offensive threat, and he showed why on a couple occasions.  But he was disrupting things in the midfield like a man possessed, which ultimately led to some of Portland’s best opportunities.

Darlington Nagbe, 6 Didn’t terrorize Dallas like he normally does, but his finish on the Timbers’ second goal was fantastic.

Diego Valeri, 8 Tough man of the match contest between he and the other Diego, but other than his badly missed chance, Valeri was electric.  If the Timbers finish 2013 strong, it will be hard to argue that Valeri was anything but the signing of the year in MLS.

Rodney Wallace, 5.5 Rodney was very effective on Saturday night until he got near the box.  Once there, he made a few decisions that were less than ideal; usually calling his own number rather than dishing to an open teammate.

Ryan Johnson, 6.5 Four shots, three on frame, one in the net.  Basically, a standard night at the office for Ryan.

Jose Valencia, 5.5 Was his usual aggressive self in the attacking third on Saturday, racking up three fouls in 17 minutes.  But Trencito generally did his job nicely in keeping Dallas’s backline occupied to prevent them from throwing too many numbers forward.

Kalif Alhassan, 6 I didn’t like his substitution, but Kalif proved that’s why CP—not CR—is coaching the Timbers.  Kalif was very good in his role on Saturday, completing all 16 of his passes and helping to kill off the game.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 1, Dallas 1. Cooper and Ryan Miller (!).

Actual Result: Timbers 2, Dallas 1. Ryan Johnson, Mauro Diaz, and Darlington Nagbe.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

It’s quiet on Morrison Street.  Some would say too quiet.

In a summer stocked with major MLS moves, each seemingly tabbed as the next big sign of the League’s maturation, the Portland Timbers have stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

Michael Nanchoff went off on loan.  So was Jose Valencia.  Then he wasn’t.  Then he was.  Then he wasn’t.

The Timbers brought in Alvas Powell, a smart early move to bring up a very promising youngster, but in as wet a summer as we’ve seen around MLS in some time, the Timbers’ moves were decidedly un-splashy.

Unfortunately coinciding with the Timbers’ summer transfer inactivity has been a stretch of play that, when compared to Portland’s torrid start, can only fairly be described as a slump.  Okay, maybe a mini-slump.

The combination of the activity around MLS, Portland’s lukewarm performances, and a tight Western playoff race have some in and around the Rose City understandably ruing the passage of the transfer deadline as a missed opportunity to compete with the other contenders in the West that added to their roster at the deadline.

The consensus among those who desired a move at the bygone deadline seems to be that Portland should have targeted a striker or fullback.  For what it’s worth, it appears Portland did target a striker, as Merritt Paulson revealed that a designated player deal fell apart at the eleventh hour, and that Valencia’s long-rumored loan became off-again when the Timbers were left at the altar.

The downside to not making a summer move, however, may not actually be that great for the Timbers for two reasons.

First, summer moves do not bring with them any guarantee of significant second half success.  In 2012, six teams made designated player signings in the summer.  Of those teams, two got markedly better,[1] two were only marginally better,[2] one was marginally worse,[3] and one was markedly worse[4] after making their midsummer move.  Major midseason transactions, then, only appear to have made a significant positive difference in the table for two of the six teams that made them in 2012, suggesting the transactions are far from a golden ticket to the playoffs.[5]

Second, when you look at the construction of the Timbers’ 2013 roster, there really isn’t an easy place to make an upgrade.  I agree that fullback and forward make the most sense from an immediate perspective, but in taking a closer look at the Timbers’ roster, making any move short of a no-brainer would have been difficult.

At fullback, Michael Harrington’s early season showers have turned into summer flowers for Portland, as he has been one of the most consistent Timbers over the past two months.  On the other side, while the rotation of Jack Jewsbury, Ben Zemanski, and Ryan Miller has left something to be desired, the addition of Powell makes a signing there impractical and imprudent.

With respect to forward, the Timbers have primarily relied on Ryan Johnson up top, with Rodney Wallace, Diego Valeri, and Darlington Nagbe not far behind in the attack.  Simply put, signing a forward midseason would have relegated one of these guys to the pine.  Considering their universal fine form, the Timbers would have been foolish to disrupt their attack for anything less than a home run signing.[6]  The lack of an obvious spot to fill in the lineup made it all the more likely that the Timbers would end up on the minus-side of teams making a midsummer move, something that could have been disastrous in a tight Western race.

This explains why the Timbers were quick to throw in the towel when their DP forward bid didn’t come to fruition.  It’s a safe bet that the Timbers’ target was a wish list sort of guy; the kind of player that would have made the MLS media gush once more about how far the League has come.  But when that didn’t pan out, the risk of moving onto a Plan B would have outweighed the potential reward.

So the Timbers stood pat.  And maybe that quiet isn’t such a bad thing.

Onward, Rose City.

Announcement Below

Announcing the 107 Independent Supporters Trust Lending Library and Literary Outreach Project.

Portland, OR is a city of many pleasures; outdoor recreations, craft beer, soccer watching, and book browsing among them. With the new BOOKED! Lending Library and Literary Outreach Project, the 107ist seeks to promote literacy related to the beautiful game of soccer. Literature from the grassroots of the sport all the way to the global influences the sport holds in everyday life.

With the craftsmanship of 107ist board member Abe Goldman-Armstrong we have a bookshelf in place at the Fanladen and we have begun cataloging book donations, found online at LibraryThing.

To kickoff the BOOKED! Lending Library Project we will need help from our loyal 107ist compatriots to fill the shelves with donations. On Saturday, August 17, from 2-6pm at the Fanladen, the 107ist BOOKED! Lending Library Project will be collecting books from anyone interested in donating. We are seeking books relative to the sport, culture and history of soccer.

At the time of donation, you can opt to have your name, the date and a comment added to the inside cover of the book. This information will be archived as standard procedure for all donations to the BOOKED! Library. All accepted donations will then become property of the 107ist Library Project.

How this will work....

Books will be available to be checked out by all Official 107ist members in good standing. A limit of two books per member can be check out at a time. The check out period per item is three weeks, with a grace period of two weeks past due.

The BOOKED! library is viewable online so anyone will be able to see what is available in the database collection.

There will be a binder at the Fanladen, that will need to be filled out at the time of check out. This information includes: verification of your 107ist membership, name, email address or phone number, title and author of the book, and the date of check out. When returning books please have the 107ist rep. on duty initial the “Returned” box next to your name and check out info.

Future Goals.....

Beyond just a lending library we are aiming to have BOOKED! become an influential partner in bringing authors of football to Portland as well as encourage and help support better coverage of football in the local writing, bogging, and journalism community.

We also are looking to extend our literary outreach past just the Fanladen and help with reading programs in schools throughout the Portland metro area.

Important Dates....

Book Drive at the Fanladen

Saturday August 17, 2013

2-6pm

We would like to have the BOOKED! Lending Library open for business by the end of September.

Keep in touch with us on Twitter @Booked107

The 4th Annual Timbers Army Homebrew Competition will be held August 11th, at 9am at Lompoc Sidebar 3901 N. Williams.

Categories:

Pride of Cascadia (winning entry to be brewed at Lompoc) Pale Ale, IPA, Imperial IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale, Northwest Red

Full 90 (winning entry to be brewed at Widmer Brothers Brewing-Rosequarter Brewery) anything sessionable, the goal is a beer that you can drink for the full 90 minutes of watching a match. blonde ales, golden ales, Kölsch, pale lagers, would be good examples, but this is a sessionable summer beer category, so whatever you think fits.

We are still seeking judges. Email abram.goldman-armstrong@107ist.org if interested in judging. Entries may be dropped off at Lompoc Fifth Quadrant until Extended Deadline! closing on Saturday August 10th. Please enter 2 bottles per beer. Fee is $10 per entry, $5 per entry for 107ist members. Please make checks payable to 107ist, and include a completed BJCP entry form.