—by Andrew Brawley

Houston is the largest city in the United States that I have not set foot in. I’ve been to every other major city in Texas, so I feel like I’m somewhat familiar with it. However, I don’t feel that qualifies me to write a travel guide for it.

For this particular entry, I’ve employed a good friend / Houston ex-pat / former co-worker who’s currently based in Los Angeles. He is originally from Houston, and is known for frequent visits to his hometown due to social and familial obligations. He’s good people, and I totally vouch for him. Here’s my pal Sam Guilloud and his recommendations for the city that will be owned by Jonathan E. in the not-so-distant future.

Restaurants: don’t be afraid of chains as Houston doesn’t do small individual restaurants. If a restaurant is good, then there are at least five of them.

• Goode Company: big chain in Houston that’s renowned for its BBQ.
• Pappas Restaurants: this is actually a superchain of restaurants in Houston that all start with “Pappas” and specialize in seafood, BBQ, Mexican, Italian, etc. If it’s got Pappas in front of it, it’s usually good. i.e. Pappadeaux, Pappas BBQ, Pappasito’s, etc.
• Ninfa’s: the restaurant that invented Tex Mex. Amazing everything.
• Taste of Texas: the premiere Texas steak experience. Pick your meat, pick your fixin’s, and gaze upon the wondrous cattle wrangling murals and stuffed buffalo head throughout.
• Vegetarian options (I’m just assuming you need this since this is for a Portland audience ): Baba Yega in Montrose. Great food and Sunday Brunch is party central.

Sights:

• Houston Aquarium: I’ve never been, but I hear it’s amazing.
• The Menil Collection: one of the best contemporary arts museums in the country.
• Rice Village: great area to walk around, shop, go to restaurants, bars, mingle with college students, etc. 
• Houston Galleria: the most insane mall you’ve ever seen. Can be a madhouse on the weekends.
• Uptown: this is a new area of shops and high end restaurants. It “looks” pedestrian friendly, but don’t be afraid to drive between locations.

Tips:

• Fly into George Bush Intercontinental Airport. It’s the most technologically advanced airport this side of Asia. Bonus points if you take your picture in front of the bronze statue of George HW Bush. A stunning immortalization of him walking into the wind with his tie and coat jacket blown back for dramatic effect. Brings tears to the eyes.

Bring:

• Mosquito repellent: Houston is a garden of freeways and skyscrapers built on top of a swampy hive of mosquitoes. These things are Texas sized will drain all your blood if you let them.
• Sweaters and Shorts: don’t be afraid to rock a sweater with your flip flops and shorts because between April and October, Houston is about 100 degrees and 80% humidity, but we keep our indoors a frosty 60 degrees year round. It’s the most air conditioned city in the world so be prepared for both extremes.
• License to drive: you’re not getting anywhere without a car. Period. People on foot are mocked and stared at for the freaks they are. You wouldn’t want to be walking in that heat anyway.

Don’t Bring:

• A sense of shame: Houston is known for its zero zoning laws meaning it’s strip club heaven, most of which are in what out-of-towners may consider to be odd places. Don’t be afraid to go to one just because it's next to a church/nursery school/playground/retirement home because, really, they all are.

Avoid:

• Houston Hobby Airport: unless you’re packin’ heat. Sh*t gets real here.
• NASA: Houston, we have a problem. Especially since NASA is nowhere near Houston. Many first time visitors make the mistake of thinking NASA is centrally located downtown when it’s actually 45 minutes outside of the city in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention that it’s painfully boring unless you’re a serious space buff.

The lore, legends and legacy of the Portland Timbers and Timbers Army are featured in “Shed Culture,” a live show compiled, produced and directed by Hermes (nom de civilization: James Harrison), a capo so old-school that he saw every goal Brian Winters ever scored – indeed, so old-school that he can explain where the “Shed” part of the title comes from.

“Shed Culture” can now be both seen and heard -- this Dec 21st -- live onstage at the Alberta Rose Theatre, located at 3000 NE Alberta. Doors open at 6:30, show at 7:30. Part talk show, part sketch comedy with musical guests, there will two 45 minute halves of entertainment with a 15 minute intermission in between. Get your tickets ($12 GA) here..

So much a part of our history is “Shed Culture” that Hermes has begun reeling in sponsors for the ever-more big-budget programming. And one of those sponsors has got a deal for you.

Oregon Ballet Theatre will be offering discounted tickets for the “A Holiday Revue” show, scheduled for six performances between Dec. 10-22 at Keller Auditorium. Tickets start at $21, but thanks to “Shed Culture,” Timbers Army members can claim a 50 percent discount. Just click on the link and type ‘FORTHETIMBERS’ in the special offer code box

The show you will want to see, of course, is the finale on Thursday, Dec. 22. At the end of that night’s performance, the performers will be joined onstage by Timber Jim, Hermes, Purple Cow, Sunday White and others more familiar with the Tetris Dance than “The Nutcracker.”

—by Chris Rifer

Now that’s more like it. On Wednesday night, the Portland Timbers shocked the LA Galaxy, and perhaps themselves, by drubbing the best team in the league in front of a spirited Timbers Army and a national television audience.

The final 3-0 tally was sufficiently lopsided to do the match justice, as the Timbers dominated every phase of the game. The Portland defense, which has proven to be more than a bit dodgy on more than one occasion, was stout. The Timbers strikeforce, which has seemingly disappeared on the pitch at times this season, ran wild through the Galaxy defense. The Timbers midfield, missing its captain and down a man after going back to a 4-4-2, neutered the Galaxy offense.

After a rather blasé first 25 minutes, where the only true chance was a weak Jorge Perlaza left-footed effort, Portland established control by notching two quick, classy goals.

In the 26^th minute Mike Chabala played Darlington Nagbe into space toward the left corner flag. Seeing the Galaxy defense stare him down, Nagbe calmly sent the ball against the grain back to a running Chabala, who struck it first time into the net.

Seven minutes later, in the 33^rd, Kenny Cooper presented a target on a throw from the left wing and played the ball to Diego Chara at the edge of the box. Chara played a perfectly weighted pass into the only spot on the pitch where Perlaza could get to it. Jorge outran A.J. DeLaGarza to the ball and hit a sliding right footed shot underneath former Timber Josh Saunders and into the net.

The Army would have felt a lot better at intermission if they hadn’t read this book before. This time it ended differently, however.

After being held on the snide in shots for the first half, the Galaxy came out desperate to do something to get back into the match. LA controlled much of the possession, but the Timbers defense kept them to a handful of half chances.

Then, in the 68^th minute, Portland inserted the dagger. Sal Zizzo sent a corner to the far post where Eric Brunner was completely unmarked. Unlike his opportunity to make it 3-0 against Toronto, Brunner didn’t send this one off the post. Instead it splashed the net behind a flailing Saunders.

The Galaxy would muster a couple more weak chances, namely a Juninho strike from the top of the box that was smothered by a well-rested Troy Perkins. Finally, barely 20 seconds into stoppage time, the referee blew three long whistles. It was the soccer equivalent of a boxing referee stopping a fight early. The Galaxy were bloodied and dazed. The Timbers had rediscovered themselves.

Match Observations

• The move back to 4-4-2 has to be permanent, and I think the pair up front has to be Cooper and Perlaza. The two of them play off of each other nicely. Kenny is always going to be frustrating. He’ll get run down and take clumsy touches. It more than once has made me comment that maybe he should try basketball. But in my more sober moments, I realize that’s just the cost of doing business with him. The benefit is that he is active, holds the ball up extremely well, and, once he gets his swagger back, is one of the best finishers on the team. Most of what he does up front isn’t sexy, but it’s crucial. Importantly, it also fits perfectly with what Jorge Perlaza likes to do. Watch Perlaza’s goal again. Yes, Chara’s ball was perfect. Yes, Perlaza’s strike was clinical. But Cooper had an equal part in it in presenting a target on the throw and deftly playing the ball to Diego.
• John Spencer might want to figure out the set piece situation in Jack’s absence. That was cringe-worthy at times. Really only had one passable ball on a set piece. Just so turns out that the Timbers scored on it.
• I hate that I am about to write this because I think this person should be ignored. Only then will he go away. But seriously, John Canzano, that was the most interesting storyline that you found last night? “Teenage Girl Really Likes David Beckham.” That, friends, is hard-hitting, cutting-edge journalism—oops, commentary. If you haven’t read it, don’t. I’ll summarize it for you here. Girl, 19 and in college, waits 7 hours to see David Beckham. David Beckham smiles at girl. Girl shrieks. Canzano finds story. John, I’m just going to suggest a few other potential storylines. Timbers Break Out of Funk in Style. Portland Puts on Another Show for National Audience. Beckham Smiles at Teenage Girl, then Gets Owned by Mike Chabala. Colombian Connection Clicking for Portland. Timbers Limit Donovan to Match More Pathetic than Love Life. Just some suggestions. Here is another one: Don’t cover the Timbers. You’re out of your league and it’s pathetic when you try. Kind of like Landon Donovan’s love life.
• It will be interesting to see what Spenny does in light of Chara’s suspension if Jewsbury can’t go on Saturday. For my part, I move Darlington into the center in a diamond with Marcelin, put Kalif on the left, and leave Sallie on the right. That’s not your ideal midfield for a road match because it lacks defense, but it would be pretty electric going forward.
• Finally, sorry to be a bit less consistent these past couple weeks. Just one more week of craziness, making me, like Jack Jewsbury, questionable for Saturday, then we can get back into our weekly recap routine.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5.5 Would have a higher grade, but really didn’t have much to do. His defense played awfully well in front of him. Nothing negative to say. Troy controlled his box well, covered his posts, and was sure handed when the rare ball came his way. Still, didn’t do enough to get a really positive grade.

Mike Chabala, 7 Was matched up with Beckham for a fair amount of the night, and came out with the better end of the battle. I love how he likes to get forward, and has some good quality in doing so. He’s less athletic than Rod, but more quality up front and more reliable in back. Oh yeah, and he scored a really nice goal that he played a huge part in setting up.

David Horst, 6 Had a nice match in back. Both he and Brunner were doing a great job of keeping good structure to the defense. Many times LA looked to get forward and found nothing but organization in the Timbers backline. Your center backs get the lion’s share of credit for that. Still, I’m shocked the Horst for Futty switch has been as quiet as it has.

Eric Brunner, 6.5 Pretty much the same as Horst, except he scored a goal. That always helps the GPA.

Lovel Palmer, 6 Did Landycakes do anything Wednesday night? Nope? Okay, great work Lovel.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 Really didn’t have his most active night, but made a huge impact on the match by assisting on Chabala’s goal. When he gets the ball going toward goal, Darlington needs to be a bit more aggressive. Run at guys, Darlington. They can’t handle your pace.

James Marcelin, 5.5 Had a couple typical Marcelin giveaways, but otherwise filled in nicely. His best moments were when he would distribute from the back in the Timbers attack.

Diego Chara, 7.5 With apologies to Chabala, Perlaza, and Brunner, little Diego is your Man of the Match. He was absolutely fantastic in the midfield. He was aggressive and dominated defensively, he had great vision, and the weighting on his passes was brilliant all night long. I just really wish he hadn’t picked up that yellow card that will put him out against San Jose.

Sal Zizzo, 5.5 Was a little anonymous in the first half, but made an impact getting forward in the counterattack in the second half. Was put in a tough spot in having to take a few corners due to the injury to Jewsbury, but delivered a beautiful ball that rewarded him with an assist.

Kenny Cooper, 6 For the most part, see above. Nice assist, held the ball up well, and made good complimentary runs to Perlaza.

Jorge Perlaza, 7 Lights out. Absolutely unstoppable. I’ve been watching him all season, and I was shocked by his pace. Fantastic finish on his goal. If he had been able to hit the ball first time on his left foot he may well have notched another with a second half assist from Cooper.

Kalif, Rod, and Brian, INC. Came on in garbage time and didn’t do anything crazy.

Onward, Rose City!

Serving on the board of directors for an organization such as 107ist is a time consuming and often thankless task. At some point all of us currently serving on the board will leave our positions due to elections or simply deciding that our time on the 107ist board has been fulfilled. It is with regret that we inform you that Eric Berg has chosen to resign his position on the 107ist board effective July 30, 2011 in order to pursue an internship with Advantage Centers Portland and allow more time to be spent working with the VOZ.

Over the course of the last three years Eric has served the 107ist as an inaugural board member. As the inaugural board President he helped shape the direction of what this organization has become today, and continued that vision as one of three board members elected to a full 3-year term during our first elections. His poise, prudence, and experience in the non-profit field were incredible assets over the last several years and will be sorely missed. On a happier note we look forward to continuing to work with Eric in his new positions at AC-PDX and VOZ as we continue our partnerships with those incredible organizations, and we wish Eric the best of luck.

According to our bylaws, the sitting 107ist board of directors will identify a competent candidate and appoint them to serve out the remainder of Eric's term. As this is our first experience in this regard we will communicate the process to our membership as this takes its course over the next several weeks.

Eric's announcement in full:

Timbers Army Faithful,

Two days ago I emailed my fellow 107ist board members the anouncement of my decision to resign from the board effective Aug. 1, 2011.

The primary reason is so I can volunteer more fully with AC Portland without a perception of a conflict of interest between my service on the 107ist board and my work with a key 107ist community partner. I've developed a strong commitment to ACP over the past several months while working with the initiative through 107ist. Soon, my responsibilities with ACP will begin fulfilling requirements towards a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Portland State University. Although unpaid, I'll be working for ACP in an official capacity.

I also want to increase my involvement with Voz, a organization of day laborers, and the Voz-sponsored Portland World Cup. I've discerned that I can have more of an impact on the 107ist mission of supporting soccer at the grassroots level without serving on the 107ist board. ACP and Voz's soccer programs fit the mission like gloves. I'm also remaining as a member of 107ist's Community Outreach Committee.

It's been an honor and priviledge to serve on 107ist's founding board, as it's first president and to have been elected by members. For a decade, Timbers Army has been my tribe. I'm having a hard time deciding what *not* to say and whom to thank. So, I'll keep it short…

Team. Town. Timbers Army. You cannot stop us!

RCTID!

Eric

—by Andrew Brawley

Author's note: I know we still have a mid-week match against the LA Galaxy this week prior to the away match in San Jose this weekend, but try to look past for our purposes here. Thanks.

Do you know the way to San Jose? It’s basically down I-5 a ways, then take a right at I-505, and…well, you can figure that part out.

San Jose is definitely the neglected middle child of the Bay Area. However, I have a hard time even labeling it the “Peter Brady” of that section of California. I’d say it’s closer to a “Cousin Oliver,” as that’s about equal to the level of respect it gets compared to its much hotter family members Oakland and San Francisco. And here’s the really sad part: the Earthquakes don’t even play in San Jose. They play in Santa Clara, a suburb-of-a-suburb-of-a-suburb. It’s all a confusing mess that I just don’t have the energy to find more analogies for.

My helper this week is my mom’s cousin Julene. She’s lived in Los Gatos (another suburb-of-a-suburb-of-a-suburb that’s connected to San Jose) as far back as I can remember. She gave me a very large dictionary as an 8^th grade graduation gift, and used to drive an 80’s era Porsche. I basically used those things as a weird, distant form of motivation to do work my tail off in school, thinking that’s what it would take to acquire my own Porsche. As it turns out, I’m too tall for a Porsche anyway, and inflation has me forever waiting patiently for a large SUV with Knight Rider technology.

Julene’s recommendations are below. Please drive (and/or fly) safely.

In downtown San Jose, the Gordon Biersch Microbrewery (33 E San Fernando St.) has nice pub food and great beer. Has both inside and outside seating...fun place.

Expanding a bit to the Los Gatos / Campbell area, the Sonoma Chicken Coop (200 E Campbell Ave. in Campbell) is a large restaurant with good value and a good selection – excellent breakfast/brunch, too.

Also in Campbell, Hawgs Seafood (1700 W. Campbell Ave.) is a small restaurant, and you can eat at the counter. Very fresh seafood, plus excellent paella and Caesar salad. Great all-around neighborhood place.

Over the hill in Santa Cruz, Stagnaro Bros. Restaurant is out at the end of the Santa Cruz Pier. It’s an old diner type restaurant, but don't be fooled by the casual nature of the place. It's been around for 70 years. The clam chowder is excellent, and all the seafood is very fresh. Yummy!

Also in Santa Cruz is the Crow's Nest (2218 East Cliff Drive). Great place for fried calamari, crab Louis and margaritas. Overlooking the ocean and adjacent to the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.

2011 Operation Enduring Streamers versus Toronto FC

 

—by Soda Popinski

It has been a while since my last post as I have been busy with appearances on Shed Culture and intermittently putting out my podcasts. Plus there was this whole thing about Seattle and being the King of Clubs, life is busy for Soda Popinski these days.

Now it is time to turn our attention towards the future and the Red Moose of Ontario. Remember those times when they ruined streamers for the whole league because they threw them at players during the run of play? Talk about stupidity.

This is What NOT to do with streamers

Well I couldn't think of a better team to continue the tradition and have the next installment of operation enduring streamers against.

Operation Enduring Streamers - 2008 - Allison Andrews

What: Buy every white streamer you can find in our beautiful city, when one place is sold out try another. This is our way to stimulate the economy!

Who: Everyone in the stadium can participate. Give them to your friends, buy more for your neighbors, spread the streamer love.

When: At the end of the national anthem let your streamers fly!

Don't: Don't bring any other color streamer, or throw them onto the pitch during the run of play. This is a display for prematch.

Operation Enduring Streamers - 2010 - Allison Andrews

HAHAHAHA...Soda Popinski

We Are Timbers Army, Who Are You?

After a successful opening venture, improving playing fields at Ed Benedict Park in SE Portland, Operation Pitch Invasion tackled its second project last Saturday. OPI teamed up with AC Portland, Depave and the107 Independent Supporters Trust to begin removing a 4,000 sq ft blacktop surface at James John Elementary School in North Portland. The ultimate goal is to install a mini soccer pitch, among new greenspace that will include trees and a grass berm-amphitheater.

Photo by Shawn Levy

About 60 volunteers from 107ist made it to St Johns on a sunny morning to join the fun; and by fun I mean swinging picks and sledgehammers, using prybars, and hauling chunks of asphalt away. These chunks have the charming euphemism "brownie", but I don't recommend trying to eat one (nor do I recommend dropping one on your finger, as I did roughly five minutes after starting work, thereby relegating me to clipboard duty for the rest of the day. Ow. So it goes.).

Photo by Shawn Levy

OPI wants to extend a huge thanks to all the volunteers who helped out, and to encourage everyone to sign up for next weekend, when we'll finish the job at James John.

Photo courtesy of Depave

—by Chris Rifer

The Timbers got back to their struggling ways on Saturday, as they again snatched defeat from the jaws of a positive result in Columbus, falling 1-0 to the Crew on a sticky evening in central Ohio.

As is not uncommon, the Timbers established themselves well in the first half hour of the match. Portland controlled much of the possession and seemingly found opportunities at will. Portland’s passing was crisp, and the Timbers’ midfield dominated the Crew.

Opportunities don’t win matches by themselves, however, and the Timbers couldn’t turn their opportunities into goals. A Lovel Palmer strike from distance was stopped by Crew keeper Andy Gruenebaum. A Jack Jewsbury shot sailed off target. A Darlington Nagbe go, set up by a dazzling run, was pulled wide.

Even if the offense couldn’t put a number on the scoreboard, in the first half the Timbers defense was ready to answer the few questions that Columbus asked of them. Eric Brunner and company held Columbus at bay, maintaining their shape much better than the previous several weeks and crisply clearing away any crosses that the Crew sent into the box.

The Timbers offense would go silent in the second half, however, as an early Jewsbury strike from distance would be virtually the only serious threat of the stanza. Instead it was the Crew that would dominate. The Timbers midfield that had controlled the first half hour suddenly couldn’t keep possession, and when they did they couldn’t take it anywhere.

Meanwhile, the Timbers defense found itself under siege. For a split second it appeared as though the Crew had broken thorough, as Chad Marshall bowled over Brunner to get a nod to a Columbus corner, only to have Darlington Nagbe volley it off the line. The ball was perilously close to breaking the plane of the goal, but the linesman and referee signaled to play on.

The Crew would continue to apply pressure, and their efforts would pay off in the 79^th minute. After Robbie Rodgers shed two Timbers defenders to send a cross to the far post the ball would pinball through the box before finding Eddie Gaven who would softly volley it past Futty for the winner.

As we have frequently seen, after conceding the goal Portland retreated into its shell. Absent was any sense of urgency or desperation. Instead, Portland looked a side that was exhausted and defeated. Probably because they were.

Match Observations

• There were some moral victories out there, but at this point in the season those are worth the same in the team’s mentality as they are on the table. Nothing. Yes, there were some very positive moments from the wide midfielders. Yes, Lovel Palmer showed that he has the potential to be a good upgrade at right back. Still, a tough team would have earned a result out of that match. Right now, plain and simple, the Timbers aren’t a tough team.
• The forward situation is interesting. Neither Jorge Perlaza nor Kenny Cooper were effective on Saturday, but I think Perlaza brings a necessary element in the 4-5-1 that Cooper doesn’t—his pace. With Perlaza in the game it seemed that the Columbus defense and even midfield had to hold back a bit more, otherwise they would get burned by one of Jorge’s signature runs. When Cooper came into the game, it seemed that the Crew were able to pin their ears back with impunity because he doesn’t provide that same threat. On the whole, I am bit less curious about the 4-5-1 than I was before the match. I’m not saying it’s time to scrap it, but absent success over the next few matches it may be time to reinsert Kenny Cooper into the lineup in a 4-4-2. I am bracing myself for the comments on this that will be forthcoming.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5 Didn’t have a ton of work to do, and can’t be faulted for such a strange goal. When he was called on he generally did well, but can’t really get a very positive grade for such a rather average outing.

Rodney Wallace, 5.5 Rod actually had a nice game at left back. Had a few timely tackles and was one of the players that acted as a catalyst when things were going well up front. Had a couple plays where he misplayed a ball forward or a pass back, but I think that comes with the territory with Rod. Overall a positive game for him.

Futty, 5 Can’t really be faulted for the goal, and didn’t have a poor game in back. Still, he had a couple nervous moments. He is very much Robin to Brunner’s Batman. I like the beard, though.

Eric Brunner, 6 I thought Brunner was just a hair short of fantastic. He came through with multiple saving tackles and always seemed to be in the right spot. Can’t be faulted for the Chad Marshall almost-goal, as he was blatantly fouled by Marshall coming way over the top. Had the referee signaled for a goal, that would have been the topic of discussion.

Lovel Palmer, 5 Had a couple sloppy moments in back, but considering he only had one training session with the team, it was a good debut. I do like how he fancies himself from distance.

James Marcelin, 4 Ranged between invisible and out of control. Gets the most responsibility for the concession, as when the ball falls to you like that in the box, you have to be able to clear it out. I’m not giving him the hook just yet, but if he is going to keep another striker off the pitch, he is going to have to justify it a bit better than he did on Saturday.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 Looked electric at times with the ball at his feet. I agree with Robbie Earle that he looks much healthier than he did a month ago. Still, he had two golden opportunities that he pulled wide.

Diego Chara, 5.5 A few people have alluded to this, but one of the most interesting developments has been the chemistry between Chara and Nagbe going forward. I also still love how Diego sidles up to opponents on defense. Or maybe I just like the word “sidle”. I don’t know.

Jack Jewsbury, 4.5 One of Jack’s poorer performances. Put one shot on frame that could have turned this frown upside down, but other than that had a rough day in the midfield as he got knocked around a lot and wasn’t especially effective.

Kalif Alhassan, 5.5 I think Kalif and Palmer are going to get along just fine. Alhassan looks to be getting his groove back a little bit.

Jorge Perlaza, 4 Needed to be a little bit more aggressive, but to be honest, against a good defensive team like Columbus he is going to have his work cut out for him all alone up front.

Kenny Cooper, 4 At one point John Strong said something to the effect of “Kenny Cooper would have had a free run if he hadn’t fallen down at the top of the box.” That, friends, is the season in a nutshell. That said, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him reinserted into the lineup in the next few weeks. Look, if there is one thing you can say about strikers it is that they are streaky. Kenny is in a really bad stretch of form right now, but there is an argument to be made that he just needs to play his way out of it. Again, don’t hate me for saying that.

Sal Zizzo, 5.5 His form over the last few weeks makes it awfully hard to keep him off the pitch. The only problem is that the guys in front of him are also in good form. Sallie was really the only guy in the last 15 minutes that looked like he had the legs and the will to try to find an equalizer. Maybe that’s his role – the closer. Sallie the Closer. It may not be that accurate, but it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Peter Lowry, 4.5 I think everybody is sort of confused about what his role is on this team. He is a nice enough player – as he showed against West Brom – but I just don’t know where to put him.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

Oh, hey there. How’s it going? Yeah, long time no see.

Sorry for the absence last week, I was in the mountains of Idaho attending a buddy’s bachelor party and wedding. Accordingly, I wasn’t able to tune into the game, which hampered my ability to write about it. I should give a shout out to my buddy Mike, however, whose text updates kept me well informed of the progress of the match and off the dance floor for a period of the reception. Anyway, on to business.

Fire Observations

• My thinking on Troy Perkins has gone back and forth a little bit this season. There is no question that the trade to get him was a good deal. As much of a Cronin fan as I have been, Troy Perkins is a definite upgrade at keeper. Saturday night he was absolutely fantastic. Not only was he well-deserving of his second Save of the Week award in a row, but he logged his best complete effort of the season, earning the Timbers their win on the road. The challenge for the Timbers is that when he isn’t out-of-his-head good, the defense hasn’t been stout enough to pick up the slack. Even on Saturday, he bailed out a fair few defensive mistakes. You can’t expect you keeper to save your bacon every week, and the fear here is that matches like Saturday in Chicago are more the exception than the rule.
• Jorge Perlaza looks much more comfortable up front as – effectively – a lone striker. Between the Seattle and Chicago matches, he has been as effective up front as he has during any other two week stretch of the season. He still needs to put more of his efforts on goal, as he only has seven shots on frame, but notably four of those have hit the net.
• I’ve heard a couple people sort of question Jack Jewsbury’s inclusion on the All-Star team because a lot of his statistical production comes off of set pieces. I only have two words to respond to that: David Beckham. Without Beckham’s prowess on set pieces he never would have been the global icon that he was in the early part of the decade. Sure, he still would have been a starter on the English national team, and probably even one of their better players. But what made him special was his free kick magic. Now, Jewsbury is no David Beckham, but the point remains. Free kicks are part of the game, and an important part of the game at that. Without Jack the Timbers likely don’t tie New England, Seattle or New York, nor do they beat FC Dallas, Philadelphia or Columbus. If somebody can show me another player in the league that is responsible for that many points and not on the All-Star team, I will stand corrected. Hint: It's not gonna happen.

West Brom Observations

• I agree with John Spencer’s assessment of Darlington Nagbe’s play. He was fantastic. One major difference – he was roaming the central part of the field a lot more. I think that suits his ability to break opponents down on the dribble – to steal a basketball term – a bit more and find seams between the central mids and backs. I have liked what I have seen from the 4-5-1, but if things don’t work out I would be interested to see the team go to a 4-4-1-1 with Zizzo coming on at right wing, Kalif on the left, Perlaza up top, and Darlington withdrawn.
• I’m pretty sure Jonas Olsson is the reincarnation of Ichabod Crane.
• Boy, Eric Brunner is important to the Timbers defense. Portland’s defense was pretty good in the first half, with Brunner as its anchor. Once he left, well, we all saw what happened.
• For the first hour or so Freddie Braun showed me again why I stubbornly think he has an MLS future. It may not be this year, but I think the kid has the talent to contribute at this level. After about the hour mark, though, it was clear that he was not used to playing at that pace. I’m not sure I recall ever having seen many players as tired as he was at the end of 90 minutes.
• I had a similar reaction to the play of Chris Taylor. He hasn’t been as interesting in his few appearances as Braun, but I thought he had a respectable showing in the first hour or so of the match. If I had to choose between the two I would go with Braun, but I think Taylor may be worth the roster spot for another year to see if he can develop a bit more.

Personnel Observations

• In case you haven’t heard, on Thursday the Timbers sent Adam Moffat and a rumored $150,000 in allocation money to Houston Dynamo in exchange for defensive players Lovel Palmer and former Timber Mike Chabala. Palmer seems slated to step in fairly quickly at right back, while Chabala will probably back up, and potentially challenge, Rod Wallace at left back.
• The long and short of the deal is that it seems to be a slam dunk. Palmer will likely be better than anything that the Timbers have put at right back to date, and Chabala provides depth at the Timbers’ thinnest position. Considering Merritt and Gavin have said that another major international signing this year is unlikely, losing the allocation money is of marginal immediate significance. Adam Moffat, in spite of being an all around good guy and a decent player, had essentially fallen to fourth on the depth chart at center mid behind Chara, Jack, and Marcelin. So, the Timbers got a likely starting right back and a backup left back for their #4 center mid and change. Yes, please.
• Merritt has suggested that perhaps the dealmaking isn’t done yet. By filling needs with this early deal, I think the Timbers have given themselves a lot of options going forward. The biggest trade piece, even if some insist he isn’t on the block, is obviously Kenny Cooper. The Timbers do have a couple other pieces that they can dangle as well, however. With the addition of Palmer, it seems that either Steve Purdy or Jeremy Hall are expendable – perhaps Hall more so because of Purdy’s ability to shift to the left or the center in a pinch.
• The priorities at this point have to be finding more attacking talent and perhaps another piece to plug in at center back. To be honest, though, I’m not desperate for either. I’m kind of curious to see how Perlaza can do up front by himself, and I’m not in love with the Timbers’ ability to find something that will improve the Brunner-Futty combo in back on the trade market. If somebody like the Revs or Fire offered me a first round SuperDraft pick or a hefty sum of allocation for Coop, I would have to think long and hard about that.
• Props to Chicago Dan for alerting me to this, but one of the first people to break the trade news on Wednesday night was Ian Joy. I heart him.
• Oh, and to Adam Moffat, thanks for your service as a Timber. Hopefully one day we’ll meet again on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Or maybe October 14^th when you are on the ticket for the Timbers-Dynamo match. Awkward.