—by Chris Rifer

Coming out of 2012, the 2013 goalkeeper position wasn’t supposed to be an especially interesting one.  Although he didn’t exactly overwhelm in 2012, Donovan Ricketts looked to be the prohibitive favorite for the starting job.

Then, on December 12, apparently tired of being hung out to dry with regularity in Toronto, Milos Kocic was thrown into a deal between the Timbers and the Reds in exchange for youngster Joe Bendik.

While bringing in a keeper that allowed 47 goals in 27 appearances during the past season isn’t the traditional method of creating a goalkeeping controversy, a combination of Kocic’s partial innocence in Toronto’s defensive ineptitude and Ricketts’s modest effectiveness raised reasonable questions about whether the Jamaican would be between the posts on March 3^rd.

Add to that the fact that Jake Gleeson appears to be simultaneously healthy and not in New Zealand for the first time in most of a year, and many at the start of camp handicapped Ricketts an only modest favorite to be the Timbers 2013 first choice goalkeeper.

The first three weeks of training have done little to disprove that prediction.  Through three preseason games, both Ricketts and Kocic have been underwhelmingly passable.  Ricketts’s best performance – as has become a habit for Timbers who moonlight for their national team – has been with Jamaica where he was semi-heroic in preserving the draw at Azteca.  Jake Gleeson hasn’t had much of a chance to feature in a game situation, save for one largely dandelion-picking half against Seattle’s trialists on Tuesday morning.

Despite the mini offseason turmoil, then, Portland’s immediate goalkeeping future looks likely unchanged: hardly confidence-inspiring, but no cause for great despair.  An otherwise good team can have some short-term success with the sort of average goalkeeping we can expect from Ricketts or Kocic.

The long-term future is cause for greater concern, however.  Ricketts is thirty-five and not getting any better.  While both Kocic and Gleeson have potential, neither appears to be either a can’t-miss prospect or able to step in immediately and take the helm of a playoff-caliber team.

The Timbers also added former Akron keeper David Meves in the Supplemental Draft.  While reports of Meves have been solid thus far, it’s hard to imagine the Timbers carrying him as a fourth goalkeeper.  Don’t be surprised, however, if he surfaces in the lower divisions next year, and the Timbers keep his rights and a watchful eye cast in his direction.

2013 is a particularly important season for Jake Gleeson, as his lost 2012 campaign has warmed his seat a little bit.  If Jake doesn’t show signs of development in 2013, he can’t be considered a viable candidate for the goalkeeping job in the short or medium term.  With the current state of the Timbers’ goalkeeping situation, if you’re not such a candidate, you’re probably also not on the roster.

Simply put, considering Ricketts’s age and diminution in value over the past two seasons, a regime change in goal seems to be on the horizon, if perhaps not yet imminent.  If neither Kocic nor Gleeson steps up, the Timbers could suffer through a painful interregnum.  And nobody likes a painful interregnum.

Projected 2013 Depth Chart

1. Donovan Ricketts
   
2. Milos Kocic
   
3. Jake Gleeson
   

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

Coming out of 2012, the 2013 goalkeeper position wasn’t supposed to be an especially interesting one.  Although he didn’t exactly overwhelm in 2012, Donovan Ricketts looked to be the prohibitive favorite for the starting job.

Then, on December 12, apparently tired of being hung out to dry with regularity in Toronto, Milos Kocic was thrown into a deal between the Timbers and the Reds in exchange for youngster Joe Bendik.

While bringing in a keeper that allowed 47 goals in 27 appearances during the past season isn’t the traditional method of creating a goalkeeping controversy, a combination of Kocic’s partial innocence in Toronto’s defensive ineptitude and Ricketts’s modest effectiveness raised reasonable questions about whether the Jamaican would be between the posts on March 3^rd.

Add to that the fact that Jake Gleeson appears to be simultaneously healthy and not in New Zealand for the first time in most of a year, and many at the start of camp handicapped Ricketts an only modest favorite to be the Timbers 2013 first choice goalkeeper.

The first three weeks of training have done little to disprove that prediction.  Through three preseason games, both Ricketts and Kocic have been underwhelmingly passable.  Ricketts’s best performance – as has become a habit for Timbers who moonlight for their national team – has been with Jamaica where he was semi-heroic in preserving the draw at Azteca.  Jake Gleeson hasn’t had much of a chance to feature in a game situation, save for one largely dandelion-picking half against Seattle’s trialists on Tuesday morning.

Despite the mini offseason turmoil, then, Portland’s immediate goalkeeping future looks likely unchanged: hardly confidence-inspiring, but no cause for great despair.  An otherwise good team can have some short-term success with the sort of average goalkeeping we can expect from Ricketts or Kocic.

The long-term future is cause for greater concern, however.  Ricketts is thirty-five and not getting any better.  While both Kocic and Gleeson have potential, neither appears to be either a can’t-miss prospect or able to step in immediately and take the helm of a playoff-caliber team.

The Timbers also added former Akron keeper David Meves in the Supplemental Draft.  While reports of Meves have been solid thus far, it’s hard to imagine the Timbers carrying him as a fourth goalkeeper.  Don’t be surprised, however, if he surfaces in the lower divisions next year, and the Timbers keep his rights and a watchful eye cast in his direction.

2013 is a particularly important season for Jake Gleeson, as his lost 2012 campaign has warmed his seat a little bit.  If Jake doesn’t show signs of development in 2013, he can’t be considered a viable candidate for the goalkeeping job in the short or medium term.  With the current state of the Timbers’ goalkeeping situation, if you’re not such a candidate, you’re probably also not on the roster.

Simply put, considering Ricketts’s age and diminution in value over the past two seasons, a regime change in goal seems to be on the horizon, if perhaps not yet imminent.  If neither Kocic nor Gleeson steps up, the Timbers could suffer through a painful interregnum.  And nobody likes a painful interregnum.

Projected 2013 Depth Chart

1. Donovan Ricketts
   
2. Milos Kocic
   
3. Jake Gleeson
   

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

Coming out of 2012, the Timbers midfield was one area of the field that seemed at least competently put together heading into 2013.  Diego Chara had a second solid season, and Darlington Nagbe, Franck Songo’o, Eric Alexander, and Sal Zizzo had all shown flashes of being at least legitimate MLS contributors, perhaps on the brink of breaking out.  There wouldn’t have been much dissent if changes were made elsewhere, but the midfield stayed largely intact.  It was a midfield full of competence and potential, if maybe not excellence.

Nonetheless, Caleb Porter targeted the midfield as his top offseason priority and, in the course of just a few months, gave the unit a complete makeover.  The early returns are tremendous.

Out are Songo’o and Alexander; in are Valeri, Zemanski, and Will Johnson; and completely reshaped is the unit’s playing philosophy.

Caleb Porter’s reputation – earned or not – as a 4-3-3 coach has been upheld in name only in Portland.  Early indications from training were that Porter preferred a diamond 4-4-2, with Chara and Johnson playing as narrow wings, Jack Jewsbury at the back, and Diego Valeri at the point.

That plan lasted all of five minutes into the preseason opener against Colorado, when Jewsbury suffered what is believed to be a fairly serious hamstring pull that will likely keep him out for several more weeks.

Since, Porter has preferred a functional 4-2-3-1,[1] with Johnson and Chara sitting behind two (theoretically) wider midfielders and Valeri.  This has provided an opening for Darlington Nagbe and, at least against San Jose, Kalif Alhassan to step back into the starting midfield.

The beginning of the end of the 4-2-3-1 experiment, however, may have been the acquisition of defensive midfielder Ben Zemanski.  While Zemanski spent most of his days at Chivas on the right side of the midfield or defense, early indications are that Porter sees him as more of a defensive central midfielder, potentially taking Jewsbury’s hamstrung place at the back of a diamond.

The problem with the Timbers’ 4-2-3-1, especially playing as high pressure as they do, is that all of the Timbers’ logical choices for wide players in the higher midfield level like to float inside.  This isn’t anathema in Porter’s centrally based system, but causes problems because it relies on the fullbacks to both be the only real line of flank defense and provide width for the attack – two often mutually exclusive objectives.

Don’t be surprised on Saturday if the Timbers roll out a four-man midfield of Chara, Zemanski, Valeri, and Will Johnson.  Moving to a diamond 4-4-2 will allow Chara and Johnson to still play relatively centrally, but wide enough to provide cover when either Tetris Harrington or Ryan Miller get forward to add width to the final third.

The 4-4-2 base formation also opens the options box for late substitutions.  Kalif Alhassan right now looks to be the first attacking midfield option off the bench, as Porter went out of his way in the San Jose postgame presser to praise Kalif’s preseason work despite his culpability on a pair of concessions.  The logical move if the Timbers are stretching for a late goal would be to lift Zemanski for Alhassan, move Johnson and Chara back a little bit and shift into the 4-2-3-1 look that flummoxed the Quakes’ defense for extended stretches of the first half on Sunday.  Defensively, this set up allows either Jack Jewsbury or Ben Zemanski – whichever isn’t already on – to come on and move the Timbers into a more defensive looking 4-5-1 to put a late lead on ice.

Simply put, the 4-4-2 maximizes the Timbers’ options while providing ad additional bit of cover for a defense that was torched against San Jose.  Whichever formation Porter ultimately goes with, however, it’s clear his philosophy is to play high and central.  So far, this has led to a much more aesthetically pleasing attack than the direct style of the Spencer Era.

Look for Valeri and Darlington Nagbe – assuming he slots in a second striker – to be fluid in how high they play.  Considering Nagbe’s penchant for picking the ball up deeper in the midfield and making vertical runs, and Valeri’s nose for making the final pass, don’t be surprised to see Valeri frequently float higher than Nagbe.

If Valeri ends up being the dominant force he appears to be capable of being, this dynamic will cause problems for teams that try to man-mark the Argentine.[2]  By moving him between a couple levels of the attack, Portland can create inconsistency in aggressive opponents’ defensive shape, and cause goal-inducing confusion.  If teams try to defend straight up, well, San Jose can testify to the dangers involved.

What Porter has created, then, is an opponents’ defensive nightmare.  He has a midfield stocked with talent, that defends aggressively, and is fluid formationally with attractive options off the bench.

Simply put, if the early indications hold true, the midfield makeover is Caleb Porter’s first major success in Portland.

Defensive Central Midfield Depth Chart

1. Ben Zemanski
   
2. Jack Jewsbury
   
3. Rodney Wallace
   
4. Mobi Fehr
   

Left Midfield Depth Chart

1. Will Johnson
   
2. Michael Nanchoff
   
3. Rodney Wallace
   

Right Midfield Depth Chart

1. Diego Chara
   
2. Kalif Alhassan
   
3. Sal Zizzo[3]
   

Attacking Central Midfield Depth Chart

1. Diego Valeri
   
2. Kalif Alhassan
   
3. Michael Nanchoff
   

Onward, Rose City!

We all had a great time visiting with folks at the Fanladen the other day, handing out membership packets and swag and giving folks the chance to have a special moment or three with the Cascadia Cup. It was a wonderful day. Thank you to everyone who came out and shared the time with us.

Here’s the link to the entire picture gallery where you can browse to your heart’s content, locate your own pic and download it for free. Once again, we expect to see Facebook plastered with even more Cascadia Cup goodness shortly.

Cascadia Cup Picture Gallery

Huge thanks once again our exceptional photographers, Steven Lenhart and Liv Schelly, professionals who volunteered their time and talent for the event. Please consider using them the next time you want any sort of portraits or sessions done.

NOTE: The gallery expires February 28th, so get those free downloads while they last!

Steven Lenhart's website

Liv Schelly's website

—by Chris Rifer

One week into the 2013 preseason, and the tone of Timbers practice is already beginning to change.  The exuberance of the first practice session on Monday has faded somewhat; replaced by a sense that the team’s potential is matched by the great deal of work it has to do between now and March 3^rd.  Nonetheless, one week in, Caleb Porter is clearly very pleased with the team’s work ethic and fitness.

The Timbers opened practice with its typical warm-up session.  Unlike pregame warm-ups, which typically constitute stretching, passing, and a modest set of drills in the northeast corner, pre-practice warm-ups covered most of the width of the field on the north side.  The drills themselves are also more dynamic, concluding with a set of running pace-change drills to alternating cones.  And nobody asks Kalif to put his hands up.

As Caleb Porter said after practice, the focus shifted on Saturday to the high-pressure defensive scheme so much ink has already been spilled over.  After warm-ups and a set of two-man passing drills, the Timbers broke into the games of keep away that would consume much of the training session.

Beginning with six small square games of four-on-two keep away, Porter blew his whistle every few minutes to add a wrinkle to the game.  Eventually, the six groups were merged into two, which were still split into three teams.  One team would be on offense in each box, with the third team split defensively between the two boxes.  If the offensive team completed six passes, they could send the ball to the team in the other box.  If they gave up the ball, however, they became the defensive team.

Again, however, Porter threw wrinkles into the game, until finally the two groups were playing eight-on-four games spanning much of the width of the field.  Again, the players were split into three different colored teams, with two teams on offense and one on defense.  Whenever the offensive team would turn the ball over, the offending player’s team would rotate into the middle and play defense.

When the keep away games finally ended, the team was split into teams for modified eight v. eight short field games on the north side of the field.  As they often do, they played with modified scoring scheme where a goal counts for two points and six consecutive completed passes count for one.

Darlington Nagbe drew a tough assignment for his skill set, lined up on the left wing for much of the day. Despite his lack of left foot, Nagbe did well using his speed and showing a little bit of impressive quick passing for January.  Nagbe’s efforts were rewarded in the last game of the day, as he got loose on the left and blasted a shot past Jake Gleeson inside the far post.

Young Colombians Sebastian Rincon and Jose Valencia also shone during the eight v. eight sessions.  Trencito, in particular, is starting to look more comfortable, and today began putting his considerable size and speed to good use.

The Timbers depart for Tucson on Sunday for a four game, twelve-day training camp.  Portland will put its perfect preseason record to the test for the first time in 2013 on Tuesday.

Notes

• After practice, Porter sounded very pleased with the team’s fitness and work ethic in the first week of practice.  Caleb indicated that the team was further along than he expected at this point, and called the team’s fitness “tremendous”.
• Porter was also pleased with the team’s approach to Saturday’s defensive session, saying “It was a hard session, and they worked their asses off the entire time.”
• One theme that has come out of interviews in the first week is using the Timbers’ recent past as a motivator. Porter brought it up again today, saying that the good work ethic in the first week “shows that the guys that were here – that are back here – are dissatisfied with the past and want to make amends.”
• Porter indicated that the four games in Tucson would allow him to test out a couple different schemes and hopefully return to Portland with a better idea of what the team will run.
• As for the games in Tucson, Porter said that some would have three 45-minute halves.  As is to be expected, many, if not most players still need more fitness work before they’re ready to play a full game.  Accordingly, don’t be surprised to see a lot of players get time on the field – especially in the first few games in Tucson.
• Finally, Porter said Hanyer Mosquera will return from a knee injury shortly.  Brent Richards, however, went down with an apparent knee injury during practice.  No update was immediately available.
• Although such plans are notorious for being subject to change, as of right now it appears MLS will stream every game in Tucson.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

What people speculated about after the Timbers traded for Will Johnson, and what people suspected after PTFC signed Diego Valeri, and what people feared after an absence at the first day of training, was finally confirmed by the club on Wednesday.  Frank Songo’o is on the outs.

And it’s the right move for the Timbers.

Now, that’s a bold statement.  And like any bold statement, it needs to be qualified.  Songo’o is a good player.  He showed very nicely at times last year, especially late last season.  And there’s a good chance he was poised to take another step forward in 2013.

But here is what we know.  Franck’s $70,000 2012 salary was to “skyrocket” in the second year of his contract.  We don’t know how much, obviously, but it’s safe to assume it was going to be six figures.  We also know, per the club’s admission, that his 2013 contract was only partially guaranteed – meaning the Timbers could waive Franck and only the guaranteed portion of the contract would count against the salary cap.

If, as reported today, Franck has been waived, we can guess his 2013 salary was to be well over $100,000.  Simply put, for $100,000 some MLS team would have given up a draft pick, allocation money, or an international spot for Franck.  He’s a good player.  He has value, and that salary number is about right for a player of his quality.

But the current status of the Timbers’ midfield made Franck a luxury.  Considering the considerable salary cap constraints the Timbers will be under this season and next, Songo’o was simply a luxury the Timbers couldn’t afford.

It’s hard to know exactly how the Timbers midfield will take shape.  It seems likely that it will be either a diamond 4-4-2[1] or a 4-3-3.  We also know that Will Johnson will occupy Franck’s 2012 spot on the left side.  We know the Diegos will take up two more spots in the midfield.  And, even assuming for a moment there is a fourth midfield spot, the Timbers still have the likes of Darlington Nagbe, Sal Zizzo, and Kalif Alhassan to fill the spot on the right.  While Franck probably could beat out Kalif for that spot, and maybe even Zizzo despite his incumbency, it’s unlikely he would have prevailed over Nagbe considering the club’s commitment to Darlington going forward.

The next question is whether Franck could fit up front somewhere.  But, there, too, the Timbers have a gaggle of players they are committed to.  Ryan Johnson, Bright Dike, Danny Mwanga, Jose Valencia, and – if he’s not already slated in the midfield – Darlington Nagbe are all more obvious fits up front that Franck.  The club is already committed to a number of guys who can capably fill every position at which Franck could have been of use.

Instead, Franck’s most likely fit on the team was as a utility midfield sub.  After all, in a four-man midfield he can play on the left, right, or in the attacking central role.  Franck is a great fit for such a position.  But, then again, so is Eric Alexander – who can play on the left or either central midfield position.[2]  And what ultimately gives Eric a huge edge over Franck is his $56,925 2012 salary.  Sure, Eric isn’t as natural a fit on the right as Franck would be, but that loss is substantially mitigated when you’re looking down the bench at Zizzo and/or Alhassan.

Simply put, Franck didn’t fit a need.  Even had he come back, he faced an uphill battle for consistent minutes on a relatively deep attacking roster in a club that couldn’t afford him.

It’s not fun to lose a guy like Franck.  He’s an easy guy to like – a good player who clearly enjoyed playing in Portland.  But sometimes, as here, it’s a good move for the club to wish a good player well in his future endeavors.

Good luck, Franck.

Onward, Rose City!

Portland, OR., Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, WA. — January 22, 2013 —The supporters groups in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver had a productive and respectful conference call with Major League Soccer’s representatives that opened important dialogue. The supporters groups in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver look forward to working with MLS to resolve this issue. The Cascadia Cup Council continues to believe that it is well positioned to represent the interests of the Cascadia Cup trademark and the supporters who created it.

—by Mike Coleman

First, let me say that I want you, dear Reader, to understand that these words are coming from Mike Coleman, the soccer supporter and not Mike Coleman, the 107ist board member. As a 107ist board member, I will work to ensure we uphold our mission to support soccer in the Portland area from the grass roots to the highest levels. I will follow the lead of the membership, and work to ensure we continue to be Soccer City USA.  This may not always align 100% with what I may want, but that’s the way it should be.

That being said, there was a meeting Friday night – a lot of passionate people came out to determine how best to support Thorns FC. They bandied about questions and opinions, voted on names, thought about flags, talked about tifo, and designed their merchandise line.

This was all streamed over the Internet where several folks thought it was a better use of their time to throw stones instead of participating in the discussion.  It’s fun to mock people on Twitter (hell, I do it all the time), to cast aspersions, but not bring anything to the party – this is the American way in the Internet age.

As I sat back at the meeting, participating a bit as a supporter and answering questions about the role of the 107ist the best I could, I thought to myself “while a lot of this is a real clusterfuck, these folks are getting together and trying to move stuff forward – bravo for them”

Then I came home and I read Twitter. I saw folks I respected arguing with other folks I respected (as well as folks who I think are complete cotton-headed ninny muggins weighing in on both sides, when they should be turning the lights off in their parents’ basement and going to bed). There was even a sock created representing one of the final name choices. It was all entertaining, but simultaneously frustrating.

“You have to let this happen, you can’t dictate the culture, let it grow ORGANICALLY”

“How is calling for all interested parties to come together and talk about what they want to see not ORGANIC”

Repeat those two sentences about 500 times and you’ll get the nature of the argument.

My thoughts originally were more aligned with the “we are all working on this together, everyone is free to join in” crowd.

People who have been around a lot longer than me will say, “The Timbers Army took years to evolve. You can’t just fork lift in supporters’ culture and expect it be genuine”

To that many of us replied, we already know what to do. We’ve seen it in our own backyards for years. It’s not 2002, we have a cadre of volunteers, we have materials, and we have financial backing – it would be ludicrous to suggest that we forget that we know all this and go back to an age when there was no Twitter or Facebook and we didn’t have 4,000 flags sitting up in a cage above the field.

And then I read more. I read about how this is all for the “Mo’s” of the world (Mo is a teenage female TA who designed an initial scarf which was the genesis of the meeting last night). How this is for the teenage girls in Portland to give them role models, and show them they can pursue their dreams.

And that is great. That is something we need to do. We need to teach young women (and young men for that matter) how to derive self-worth from healthy avenues. Young boys growing up seeing stadiums full of people worshiping teams made of male athletes. Having a chance for young women to see an entire city stand behind a female team is nothing short of awesome filled with win dipped in incredible.

But what I realized this morning was that none of us know what the experience inside that stadium is going to be.

I had thought in my own head that it’d be just like a Timbers match. All of the same folks I see at Timbers matches would be there, and we’d do what we do in a slightly varied manner. The chants may change, but many of the faces would be the same.

At this point I’m sure you, dear Reader, are thinking that I’m the cotton-headed ninny muggin.

When the Thorns FC season starts, I’m sure a lot of my friends are going to be there. I’m sure a lot of them are going to want to bang drums and chant. But, like at a reserves match, a lot of them are going to want to grab a beer and move to a place where they can become supporters of a different nature. Just like the folks who sit on either side of JWF and cheer their ass off when it suits them during Timbers matches

And who will fill their place in the North End? Will it be a concentration of Timbers Army? Will it be legions of teenage girls? Will it be curious people from the community who can’t get Timbers tickets but want to experience the beautiful game played by some of the best players in the world?

We don’t know. We just don’t.

They say in fighting everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. It is great to have a plan. But, it’s also vital to understand that you can’t build a plan that’s viable when you don’t understand all the variables.

How do you scale a tifo design when you have no idea who many people will be there to execute it? How many t-shirts do you order when you have no idea how many people will buy them? How many flags do you make when you have no idea how many people will wave them.

Do you go out and march bravely ahead and hope you don’t end up with 800 DVDs you can’t sell? Or, do you start small with some core things you know will work and then as lay of the land becomes clearer do you grow . . . . judiciously.

Anyone who loves soccer wants NWSL to succeed, and if they live here they want the “yet to be named supporters group” to be a shining example of what Women’s soccer support should be. But, it doesn’t have to all be done by mid-April for first kick.

—by Chris Rifer

New faces were in abundance around Jeld-Wen Field on Monday morning, as the Timbers opened training camp in preparation for the 2013 season.  Unlike years past, the team was mostly together on Monday, as Rodney Wallace was the only absent player expected to be in green and white on opening day.

Before the Timbers opened practice to the media, the club announced that Jose Valencia had been signed to a multi-year contract.  Trencito’s deal will not make him a young designated player, however, likely leaving the third DP spot open for the Timbers.  The Timbers could leave this spot open and rake in the appurtenant financial benefits, or could look to add a player midseason, especially if somebody attractive were to surface through the allocation order process.

Conspicuously absent from training, however, were Kris Boyd and Franck Songo’o.  At training, the club reported that it was still in discussions with Boyd, and that an update may be available in approximately one week.  The Timbers were also guarded as to Songo’o, saying that discussions were ongoing and more detail was likely a couple weeks away.

The Timbers were split into three relatively casual games of keep away on the south end of Jeld-Wen Field when the media were let into practice, with the goalkeepers practicing in the shadow of the North End.  After a brief meeting with new skipper Caleb Porter, the team split into two more vigorous games of keep away, with two centerbacks playing all-time distributor at each end of the box.

Mobi Fehr stood out in the game closest to the media on the west side of the field, consistently displaying good technique on the ball, quick passing, and active movement playing mostly in the center of the box.  Both Hanyer Mosquera and David Horst looked a little bit rusty in distribution, although – to be fair – no more than should be expected on the first day of training.

After those games were finished, the team split into three teams for 8 v. 8 short-sided games.  Most of the presumptive starters were on the blue team, including Diegos Chara and Valeri, Johnsons Ryan and Will, and newbie left back Michael Harrington.  Diego was stranded out wide right in the 3-4-1 diamond midfield formation and – consistent with his history on the right – didn’t make much of an impact there.  Ryan Johnson showed nicely, displaying early signs of being a much more technical striker than the Timbers have had in the past.  Valeri had a couple nice moments at the point of the diamond, including an early goal and some good link up play with Ryan Johnson.  Otherwise, Valeri had a solid, if perhaps a little bit unspectacular, day.

The orange team featured a flatter midfield of Darlington Nagbe, Danny Mwanga, Eric Alexander, and Kalif Alhassan, with Bright Dike up top.  Freshly signed Ryan Miller took up a spot on the right flank.  This team looked a little bit out of sorts, as Alhassan was often caught with the ball at his foot.  Eric Alexander, however, had a couple nice moments in central midfield.

The green team was primarily composed of youngsters, including Jake Gleeson, draft pick Dylan Tucker-Ganges, Brent Richards, Sebastian Rincon, Steven Evans, Fehr, and Valencia.  While young, this team showed some pluck, giving the star-studded blue side all it could handle in the final game of the day.  Sal Zizzo made a few nice runs from the right back position,[1] including one in which he found space to unleash a shot that sailed just high of the far upper ninety.  I was again impressed with Fehr’s work in the middle, often finding Rincon and Valencia in a position to test the defense.  Finally, Rincon showed off the runs that made him a starlet on the reserves last season, as well as a very recognizable high-pitched yell.

After practice, Caleb Porter, Will Johnson, Jack Jewbsury, Ryan Miller, and Ryan Johnson addressed the media.

Notes

• Gavin Wilkinson and Merritt Paulson took in practice from the sidelines.  Neither stuck around to talk to the media afterward, however.
• The Timbers were donning new training outfits featuring white stripes down the sleeves.  They’re nicer than the old training get-up.
• While nobody with the club would admit as much today, it is clear that Kris Boyd’s departure is imminent.  The bigger revelation from this morning, however, is that it seems unlikely that Franck Songo’o will stay in Portland.  I would think Franck would be in camp if it were simply a matter of renegotiating his contract to retain him at a lower number.  Rather, I think it is probable that the Timbers are in the process of offloading him, one way or another.  Because I think the Timbers are going to use their single free offseason buyout on Boyd, it seems likely that Songo’o will depart via trade or transfer, which would also explain the longer timeline for finalizing his status with the club.
• Unlike his introductory press conference, Caleb Porter refused to comment on the status of either Songo’o or Boyd.  Porter didn’t let on much about the captaincy, either, saying only “most likely we’ll have a captain who will be our captain throughout the entire year.” Porter did, however, leave open the possibility of having a club captain and a separate gameday captain.
• Jack Jewsbury, for his part, expressed his desire to retain the armband.  “Yeah it’d be huge.  Obviously it’s a position that I’ve had the last couple years, and it’s an honor to put that on every single game, not only for the guys in that locker room, but for this organization.”
• While all three of the new players interviewed after training were affable in front of the press gaggle, Will Johnson shone above all others.  It is clear that Will is very familiar with the organization and the challenges of the past two years.  Relatively unprompted, Johnson spoke to the difficulty of winning on the road.  “Every team has good players, every away game is a very tough game, and so we just have to learn that very quickly and bring a new mental toughness to this organization.”
• In the best quote of the day, Johnson further spoke to his approach to the road, saying, “I always used to tell Jason [Kreis], if I had to be rested, I don’t want to be rested at home because those are easier games.  I’d like to play all the road games because you really need a strong mentality, you need a road warrior mentality, if you will, because without road results you have to be perfect at home.  And the realistic point of view is that no one is going to be perfect at home, so winning on the road needs to be an absolute priority, and something that hasn’t gone right in the first two seasons, and is an extremely difficult challenge, especially when you’re assembling a new team.  But it’s something that we have to figure out a way to do, otherwise we’ll be on the outside looking in again, and I don’t see that as an option.”  Welcome to Portland, Will Johnson.
• Ryan Miller came out to the media gaggle wearing flip-flops, humbling me, and my freezing shoe-and-sock-ensconced toes.  Miller said that if he came back to MLS, he either wanted to play for his hometown Chicago Fire or a “very good situation.”  The person Miller credited with convincing him that Portland was such a situation was USL Timber George Josten, with whom Miller played with in Columbus.
• On a final programming note, I’m going to try to make it to training as much as I can.  As a practical matter, that means primarily weekends and holidays.  When I do, I’ll try to put together at least a short recap and, of course, will live tweet the open portions of practice.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Andrew Brawley

How serious is this Cascadia Cup trademarking issue to the affected supporters groups? It’s forcing us to be nice to each other on the Internet.

Nice.

To each other.

On the Internet.

Yeah…it’s THAT serious!

You might think I’m joking here, but this is something of a milestone. The amount of smack-talk, trolling, pouring glasses of Haterade, or whatever the kids call it these days, has plummeted ever since Major League Soccer quietly snuck into Canada to attempt a claim on the rights to the words “Cascadia" and "Cup.” (Of course, the Sounders no longer having Montero and Levesque on their roster ain’t helping, either, but I digress.)

Naturally, being the tech-savvy Pacific Northwesterners that we are, word got out about this power grab. (Did MLS assume our membership forbid lawyers or the use of Google Alerts?) The respective supporters groups checked their meeting notes, found no mention of any conversations with MLS about this issue, consulted with each other, and immediately threw the collective red flag.

Now we have an off-season quickly turning into pre-season, and bitter rival supporters groups are forced to…*gulp*…work together and fight the man.

If you happen to associate with me by some means (Twitter, Facebook, marriage, etc.), you’re probably familiar with my occasional mockery of our rivals. Some of it is witty. Some of it is stupid. Some of it crosses the line. Some of it should’ve just hit the cutting room floor. But it’s what I do. It’s a part of who I am. I have good friends who are Sounders fans, and I would take a bullet for them, but even they understand that it’s a part of the rivalry process. It’s bigger than us, and who are we to go against it?

If it weren’t for this Cascadia Cup trademark issue, I could spend the next few weeks helping my fellow supporters get amped up for our first game against Seattle on March 16th. I have no way of proving this theory, but I believe in my heart-of-hearts that some of this rivalry ramp-up among supporters carries over into our team’s locker room (we know they occasionally check the hashtags, see the memes, Diskin’s rad artwork, etc.). Some of the players have been here long enough to know how this regional rivalry business goes down.

That nasty ramp-up time creates an atmosphere that league officials and network TV executives salivate over. It’s a solid week of YouTube videos, TV commercials, offensive memes, two-stick prep, tifo-making and liver-testing that helps this league advance into the next level. By going after the one thing that we three supporters groups focus a large portion of our respective energies on (in a very sneaky fashion, mind you), MLS managed to undercut that bitter rivalry atmosphere that they sell to advertisers and turn our collective focus onto their Manhattan headquarters.

Bad move.

When it comes to never forgetting even the most trivial of things, US soccer supporters groups rank just behind bitter divorcing trophy wives with high-powered attorneys and major assets to mull over. Not only do we three supporters groups remember the past, we celebrate it. We go to great lengths to honor our collective history, one that goes back to the 1970’s, which (if my math is correct) has a bit more historical timeline to it than MLS itself.

If we wanted to attach a corporate sponsor’s name to the Cascadia Cup, we’d have done it already. Why didn’t we do that already? Probably because we have something people refer to as “integrity.” It’s not about money for us, it’s about pride. Pride in our respective clubs. Pride in the Cascadia region. Pride in the sport itself. Pride in a trophy that was funded by individual supporters across the region who handed over any small bills and change they could spare at the time. If MLS Commissioner Don Garber thinks we’re going to forget about this fiasco, especially during the week leading up to the March 16 match, by plowing the league’s largest and loudest supporters groups with tricked out TV spots and league-created fluff pieces about the I-5 rivalry, he’s going to be disappointed.

Mr. Garber, the phone lines of the Cascadia Cup Council are open. They’ve even got some email addresses you can write to. A civil tone can be achieved here. Trust me…you don’t want the alternative. Have you not learned anything from when Noah’s Arcade attached its name to Wayne’s World?

(The clip linked above is kinda not safe for work, as it features the demeaning of a corporate type via use of assumed sexual characteristics written on the back of note cards…but whatever, you’ve already seen it over 50 times.)

#RCTID

#EBFG

#Southsiders

#GrandTheftCascadia

 

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the TA.