The Timbers season came to an end on Saturday night on the road versus Carolina, and like many of the matches this year, the team played well in stretches but gave up a late goal and took the loss. We won't be making the playoffs this year, actually as of Sunday's matches, we are last on the First Division table by a whole three points. While there was a lot of parity this year in the USL, the Timbers simply were too inconsistent for their own good. They'd look amazing one night in a match, then come out completely clueless the next night. I realize that it's tough to keep mentally focused for a long season, heck, I have trouble remembering where the grocery list is, but being mentally tough is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. And no, it's not that I can't remember what's on the list, its actually where I put the damn thing.
The offseason for Timbers fans can be a bit tough, especially since our message board becomes a harbor for crazy rumors, thoughts about strategy, the things the front office should do, and so on. Some of the ideas make sense, others are wildly crazy, but the offseason isn't boring around the Timbers message board. Some people actually fill their offseason with distractions, like watching footy from other parts of the world or watching a different sport (GASP!!). I spend my offseason watching West Ham in the English Premier League and our own hometown Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA.
I've always been a basketball fan, and so following the hometown team is an easy choice, especially after moving here in 1989 and there was a championship run that very year. This town gets nuts for their team, and I got a full on taste of what Rip City is like around here. There are signs everywhere, the games are talked about all over the news and about town, and the town cheers each win and tries to shake off each loss. The town loves its team, and there is a sense that the community is really part of the team. It's something really special, and I'm glad to see that it's coming back a bit. We certainly have a solid team base, with the rookie of the year from 2006 - 2007 (Brandon Roy), the first overall pick from the 2007 -2008 draft (Greg Oden), and a solid nucleus of players, including one of the better players from Europe coming over this year (Rudy Fernandez) to join the club. I bought an 11 game pack to watch games, and so girl and I will be going to games throughout the season. When we aren't at the game, the television is usually on the games. We are a true Trail Blazer house, and I'm glad I married such a sports fan.
West Ham is my choice to follow in English Soccer, mostly for my allegiance to a former Timber and prominent member of the Portland soccer community, Clive Charles. He played for the Hammers, as well as one of the Timbers' former coaches, Bobby Howe. Plus, one of my favorite memories of my honeymoon is watching a full stadium in Upton Park as the Hammers met Newcastle, and it was the loudest, most intense footy experience I've had. Girl supports them because of her teaching experience in Basildon, UK, and using the kids' love of football to bond with them, and the Hammers were the local team to support. I do have a lot of fondness for Sunderland, another EPL team, mostly because of the fans there. I took a trip over there in 2006 with 32 other members of the Timbers Army, and was treated to one of the most amazing experiences while there, plus another return trip in 2008 as part of my honeymoon, where they took care of myself and girl for 5 wonderful days. I respect the Black Cats a lot, and they're great folk, but the Hammers was a slightly more intense footy experience. Plus, we got to stay a night on the West Ham grounds as guests of our friends here as a wedding present.
I think the offseason is a great time to also get caught up on other pursuits, like reading or doing odd jobs around the home. While I love my Timbers a great deal, it does tend to fill our social calendar with matches, gatherings and such, and so every once in a while, it's nice to take a bit of a break. However, we still see many members as I'm playing outdoor soccer on a TA team, and girl and I bowl with some TA as part of Underdog Bowling Portland. Besides, the rains will come soon and keep most of the folks inside for the remainder of the year, which is too bad because I like the rains and the fall around here. It's actually some of the best weather here in Portland, when the mornings are crisp and the afternoons are still a bit warm and sunny. I will miss the sun when the winter comes around and the work day pretty much covers getting up and coming home in the dark, but it's a small price to pay for the coolness that is here. And besides, I already have my 2009 Timbers tickets, so bring on next year already!
For more information about the Timbers and offseason stuff, visit www.soccercityusa.com or www.talktimbers.com to learn more.
Showing posts with label offseason moves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offseason moves. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Decompressing From the Weekend
I know it's a great weekend when I'm ready to go back to work to rest up from my weekend plans. It might be a different way of thinking, but I like to think about it like this. If I'm so busy doing things and being with friends or family and I look at work like a nice break from living, the drudgery won't seem nearly as bad. So far, it's worked pretty well, but I'm also new to my new job and I'm figuring out all of the quirks of my team. So far, they know me as the new guy from Portland that loves soccer and got married this year, but that's about it. It's a bit hard when over half of your team resides in the Midwest and you only talk to them by phone. I can say that it can be done to make strong friendships by simply chatting over the phone, because I made a lot during my last job. So to say leaving there for my new position was hard would be an understatement, but I needed a new challenge, and so I'm trying something different. Which brings me back to my starting point, in a roundabout way.
The Timbers' season is almost officially over after this weekend, as Minnesota decided to score 4 goals versus Charleston and didn't allow them to score any, so we've been officially eliminated from the post season. We have a final game left this coming Saturday, and then it's the long off season. For some of us, we turn our attention to other teams, such as the Trail Blazers, while others turn their thoughts toward other soccer leagues in the world, like the EPL and Serie A. Girl and I love West Ham, and will watch them very closely during their season, but we'll also follow some sports closer to home as well. We love our Timbers, but it's nice to be distracted by other stuff once in a while as well. Plus, in reading today's paper, the Nielsen survey is actually now rating Fox Soccer Channel this month, so they will be able to put ratings to the various games that most of us get up way early to watch. So now we'll be able to point at a true number of soccer fans that are insane for getting up early on the weekends or the enemies of soccer will have proof that TV ratings for soccer rank somewhere between public access and CSPAN. I can't find the link, but know it's out there somewhere, trust me.
EDIT - I found the link and noted it above. It's actually a very fascinating article that also mentions some potential changes in broadcasting when contracts come up soon.
What the Timbers' season showed me is that sometimes you have to put things in some perspective, and being a fan of team it's hard to remain objective in looking at the bigger picture sometimes. This team had enough talent to make the playoffs, but didn't. You could blame a lot of things for why that didn't happen, such as injuries, suspensions, bad calls, travel schedule, player performances and being outcoached, and I bet anyone could find numerous examples of these things happening and then point to those as the reasons why the Timbers are spending September close to home. Whether that's the right approach or not, well, that's something to debate actually.
Today's topic on the Bald Faced Truth was talking about the Oregon Ducks football team, and their big win in Purdue on Saturday. The team showed a lot of poise to win a game that they could have easily given away, as they fell behind 20 to 3. But they kept their heads and won, something that had befallen previous Duck teams. Last year, the Ducks were threatening the BCS championship world, then Dennis Dixon blows out his knee, the Ducks lose three games in a row and end up playing in the Sun Bowl. The excuses made for this were all pointed to one player getting injured that led to the downfall of the team. And I think the point made during the show was this - if your team is able to persevere and overcome adversity, that's a better set up than having amazing amounts of talent on a team that folds up like a lawn chair when things get tough.
The Timbers exemplified this trait all this year, folding up when things got tough and not delivering. It's certainly not because of talent, because the team was loaded, and injuries and suspensions happen to all teams, so the winners either let this bother them or they adapt to the situation and move on. The team tried to adapt to player changes, a tough travel schedule, and other things, and there were points where you didn't know which team was going to show up - the rough and tumble Timbers that won their first three games impressively OR the incredibly passive Timbers that gave away points at home with losses to Miami, Vancouver and others at a place where we've had a history of not losing. So where do you look to explain this?
Everything in the Ducks world pointed at the coaches, who were quick to blame players, officials, situations, injuries, or whatever they could to explain the losses. Simply put, Mike Belotti has never publicly taken accountability for any loss put on his team, saying that it's one thing or another. While this may be the truth, you simply can't just point a finger at a player or situation and then throw them under the bus to explain losses. Even up to the coaching level, you win as a team and lose as a team, and playing the blame game in the press is a great way to lose the focus and trust of your team. Yet, coaches play this all the time, hoping a player will hear things in the news and then gain inspiration for it. The coaches never actually say names, but simply point out plays or situations where they would hope players would do better, hoping that public embarrassment will work wonders. I'd love to see a coach stand up and take responsibility for something that did or didn't happen, but out of fear of losing a job, it's a lot easier for coaches to distance themselves from situations like this and avoid any blame they can.
If you read the Timbers' coaching comments this year, it's a laundry list of comments pointedly said to deflect blame to anywhere besides on the coaches. In my opinion, coaches accept responsibility for losses, even if it's a mistake or injury. While players are professional and should be able to accept blame for not playing well, part of a coach's job is to inspire confidence while providing feedback on performance. Nothing undermines confidence like a vague comment made in a paper about somebody not playing up to their potential or blaming the travel for a bad game.
With this important off season here for the Timbers, there's lots to pay attention to as we learn about our MLS fate, we have a friendly exhibition in October supposedly, and we have all winter to speculate about signings and players. What we also need is an organization that inspires confidence in the product on the pitch, and deals with the ups and downs during a long season. While Gavin Wilkinson is a great former Timber and had a great season coaching last year, I hope he can look at 2008 as a rebuilding year not only for the team, but for the style of play and tactics in the press. We have creative players, but we need a more creative offensive style and something that can generate goals, not play defensively for draws. Also, the tactics within the press of throwing players under the bus don't inspire players to play better, if anything, they play scared to not make mistakes and we know how well someone performs when they're scared of being benched. Seriously, we should be competing at the top of the USL table every year, and only scoring 26 goals in 29 games just isn't going to win a league, this despite seeing growing attendance the past few years.
I'm not ready to call for a coaching change just yet, but a change in perspective is very due. And if that can't be done, perhaps it's time for the newest challenger to step up to the pitch. At least it won't be a boring off season....
The Timbers' season is almost officially over after this weekend, as Minnesota decided to score 4 goals versus Charleston and didn't allow them to score any, so we've been officially eliminated from the post season. We have a final game left this coming Saturday, and then it's the long off season. For some of us, we turn our attention to other teams, such as the Trail Blazers, while others turn their thoughts toward other soccer leagues in the world, like the EPL and Serie A. Girl and I love West Ham, and will watch them very closely during their season, but we'll also follow some sports closer to home as well. We love our Timbers, but it's nice to be distracted by other stuff once in a while as well. Plus, in reading today's paper, the Nielsen survey is actually now rating Fox Soccer Channel this month, so they will be able to put ratings to the various games that most of us get up way early to watch. So now we'll be able to point at a true number of soccer fans that are insane for getting up early on the weekends or the enemies of soccer will have proof that TV ratings for soccer rank somewhere between public access and CSPAN. I can't find the link, but know it's out there somewhere, trust me.
EDIT - I found the link and noted it above. It's actually a very fascinating article that also mentions some potential changes in broadcasting when contracts come up soon.
What the Timbers' season showed me is that sometimes you have to put things in some perspective, and being a fan of team it's hard to remain objective in looking at the bigger picture sometimes. This team had enough talent to make the playoffs, but didn't. You could blame a lot of things for why that didn't happen, such as injuries, suspensions, bad calls, travel schedule, player performances and being outcoached, and I bet anyone could find numerous examples of these things happening and then point to those as the reasons why the Timbers are spending September close to home. Whether that's the right approach or not, well, that's something to debate actually.
Today's topic on the Bald Faced Truth was talking about the Oregon Ducks football team, and their big win in Purdue on Saturday. The team showed a lot of poise to win a game that they could have easily given away, as they fell behind 20 to 3. But they kept their heads and won, something that had befallen previous Duck teams. Last year, the Ducks were threatening the BCS championship world, then Dennis Dixon blows out his knee, the Ducks lose three games in a row and end up playing in the Sun Bowl. The excuses made for this were all pointed to one player getting injured that led to the downfall of the team. And I think the point made during the show was this - if your team is able to persevere and overcome adversity, that's a better set up than having amazing amounts of talent on a team that folds up like a lawn chair when things get tough.
The Timbers exemplified this trait all this year, folding up when things got tough and not delivering. It's certainly not because of talent, because the team was loaded, and injuries and suspensions happen to all teams, so the winners either let this bother them or they adapt to the situation and move on. The team tried to adapt to player changes, a tough travel schedule, and other things, and there were points where you didn't know which team was going to show up - the rough and tumble Timbers that won their first three games impressively OR the incredibly passive Timbers that gave away points at home with losses to Miami, Vancouver and others at a place where we've had a history of not losing. So where do you look to explain this?
Everything in the Ducks world pointed at the coaches, who were quick to blame players, officials, situations, injuries, or whatever they could to explain the losses. Simply put, Mike Belotti has never publicly taken accountability for any loss put on his team, saying that it's one thing or another. While this may be the truth, you simply can't just point a finger at a player or situation and then throw them under the bus to explain losses. Even up to the coaching level, you win as a team and lose as a team, and playing the blame game in the press is a great way to lose the focus and trust of your team. Yet, coaches play this all the time, hoping a player will hear things in the news and then gain inspiration for it. The coaches never actually say names, but simply point out plays or situations where they would hope players would do better, hoping that public embarrassment will work wonders. I'd love to see a coach stand up and take responsibility for something that did or didn't happen, but out of fear of losing a job, it's a lot easier for coaches to distance themselves from situations like this and avoid any blame they can.
If you read the Timbers' coaching comments this year, it's a laundry list of comments pointedly said to deflect blame to anywhere besides on the coaches. In my opinion, coaches accept responsibility for losses, even if it's a mistake or injury. While players are professional and should be able to accept blame for not playing well, part of a coach's job is to inspire confidence while providing feedback on performance. Nothing undermines confidence like a vague comment made in a paper about somebody not playing up to their potential or blaming the travel for a bad game.
With this important off season here for the Timbers, there's lots to pay attention to as we learn about our MLS fate, we have a friendly exhibition in October supposedly, and we have all winter to speculate about signings and players. What we also need is an organization that inspires confidence in the product on the pitch, and deals with the ups and downs during a long season. While Gavin Wilkinson is a great former Timber and had a great season coaching last year, I hope he can look at 2008 as a rebuilding year not only for the team, but for the style of play and tactics in the press. We have creative players, but we need a more creative offensive style and something that can generate goals, not play defensively for draws. Also, the tactics within the press of throwing players under the bus don't inspire players to play better, if anything, they play scared to not make mistakes and we know how well someone performs when they're scared of being benched. Seriously, we should be competing at the top of the USL table every year, and only scoring 26 goals in 29 games just isn't going to win a league, this despite seeing growing attendance the past few years.
I'm not ready to call for a coaching change just yet, but a change in perspective is very due. And if that can't be done, perhaps it's time for the newest challenger to step up to the pitch. At least it won't be a boring off season....
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Fan's Perspective - Charleston vs. Timbers 8/9/08
You might say we scored a goal at home, which hasn't happened in a while. You can also say that we got a point for our troubles in drawing with Charleston last night. You can also say that we played with heart and character, but in the end, this game still feels like a loss to me. Simply put, we needed 3 points badly and an elementary defensive mistake gave them a point. I should know about mistakes, because I joined our TA outdoor team for a bit of workout today. While I made some nice plays, I also got schooled on some fundamentals as well, like when you have opposing players that are faster than you, you shouldn't let them get behind you.
In reading the recap from the Oregonian, it was apparent that we didn't play good defense on a corner and let Charleston get the equalizer. Never mind this was a team that doesn't play well from home, never mind they are on a long road trip out west, never mind that we badly needed a win, never mind there were a couple of questionable calls from the ref, we simply didn't do enough to win. How can you outshoot your opponent 20 to 5 and run them around the pitch all night and draw, especially since both teams were banged up and were missing key players. I'm not sure I believe in superstitions, but it does appear that we might be snake bitten as a club. The breaks that we got last year as a team aren't following us this year at all, and we are basically an average offensive, somewhat better defensive club but not elite in any stretch.
The Timbers Army was in good spirits, but unlike Thursday's absolute wall of noise with 12,000 strong, it was a smaller but just as loud crowd. It reminded me of the Shed in the 2005 days before the section exploded and people filled all the seats, as there were pockets of empty seats about but yet people were chanting and singing all night. While the TIFO display wasn't as elaborate as Thursday, there were still signs a plenty, as you can see in Allison's match report.
It certainly seemed that when offseason moves were made to the Timbers, they were addressing the team's weaknesses last year, basically finishing. We had our team leader, Andrew Gregor, back with most of the players from our top rated defense. We even had Leo Griffin return to the team, and other new players were signed, such as Taka Suzuki and Chris Brown. It seemed like we had the recipe for success on our side with a great 3 - 0 start in April, only to struggle in May and then really struggle in June and July. And now, Gregor is in Rochester, Brown has been out with a suspension, and Suzuki hasn't done much since his early season goal.
I'm not convinced that Gavin Wilkinson needs to lose his job right now, some of this I don't think you can blame on him. Injuries happen as part of the game, but couple that with the talent base brought in and the system of play, and it's apparent some changes need to be made. We are 23 games into the season and have a grand total of 18 goals scored. You aren't going to win many titles scoring less than a goal a game, unless your defense is awesome and ours is just average right now. The crazy part is that with the existing parity of the USL, we are still in 7th place and would make the playoffs if the season ended today, and we've not come close to playing any of our best soccer lately. So it's important to either have the guys play more cohesively in an offensive strategy that works, or find a coach that can bring some offense to this team. I like Gavin's GM skills, he finds players very well, but can he mix them together and coach, that's the question that I think gets answered in the next 7 games.
Last night was a start, with Bryan Little playing some of his best footy all year with pinpoint passes and some great corners/crosses, and Lawrence Olum with stellar work in the controlling mid. And Bryan Jordan's goal was a sight to see, as he made a few moves and made a sweet shot. He played tirelessly all game, and was a huge catalyst for the offense. Miguel Guante, Cameron Knowles and Byron Alvarez were also very serviceable in their respective position. The problem was that we didn't have enough of that consistently, and we gave away points tonight.
On a lighter note, I'd also like to point out our kit sponsor this year, Nike. Their newest design is flashy, form fitting and apparently made of rice paper. These kits must be tear away, cause I can't explain how many games guys get shirts torn and it appears quite easily. Chris Bagley was in the game for less than 2 minutes, and his name went from Bagley to Ba in that quick of time. I know kits get tugged on a lot, but seriously, unless you want our team looking like Captain James T. Kirk battling the Gorn, do some quality control here and choose another design. Cameron Knowles had his 13th kit destroyed and we resorted to our wonderful add number with sharpie tactic for the second half. At least that was better than Larry Olum's taped on number that lasted 10 seconds during one of our friendlies.
But all we can do is lace them up again, and go after Montreal on Saturday. They've traditionally played well here, but in an ironic twist, we tend to beat them at their home. Right now, 35 points probably gets you into the playoffs, and the Timbers have 25 points with 7 games left to play, so there is a potential of 21 points left for them. We just need to take a game at a time, and it starts on Saturday, the 16th. Hope to see you all there, ready to stand and chant. Rose City Til I Die!
In reading the recap from the Oregonian, it was apparent that we didn't play good defense on a corner and let Charleston get the equalizer. Never mind this was a team that doesn't play well from home, never mind they are on a long road trip out west, never mind that we badly needed a win, never mind there were a couple of questionable calls from the ref, we simply didn't do enough to win. How can you outshoot your opponent 20 to 5 and run them around the pitch all night and draw, especially since both teams were banged up and were missing key players. I'm not sure I believe in superstitions, but it does appear that we might be snake bitten as a club. The breaks that we got last year as a team aren't following us this year at all, and we are basically an average offensive, somewhat better defensive club but not elite in any stretch.
The Timbers Army was in good spirits, but unlike Thursday's absolute wall of noise with 12,000 strong, it was a smaller but just as loud crowd. It reminded me of the Shed in the 2005 days before the section exploded and people filled all the seats, as there were pockets of empty seats about but yet people were chanting and singing all night. While the TIFO display wasn't as elaborate as Thursday, there were still signs a plenty, as you can see in Allison's match report.
It certainly seemed that when offseason moves were made to the Timbers, they were addressing the team's weaknesses last year, basically finishing. We had our team leader, Andrew Gregor, back with most of the players from our top rated defense. We even had Leo Griffin return to the team, and other new players were signed, such as Taka Suzuki and Chris Brown. It seemed like we had the recipe for success on our side with a great 3 - 0 start in April, only to struggle in May and then really struggle in June and July. And now, Gregor is in Rochester, Brown has been out with a suspension, and Suzuki hasn't done much since his early season goal.
I'm not convinced that Gavin Wilkinson needs to lose his job right now, some of this I don't think you can blame on him. Injuries happen as part of the game, but couple that with the talent base brought in and the system of play, and it's apparent some changes need to be made. We are 23 games into the season and have a grand total of 18 goals scored. You aren't going to win many titles scoring less than a goal a game, unless your defense is awesome and ours is just average right now. The crazy part is that with the existing parity of the USL, we are still in 7th place and would make the playoffs if the season ended today, and we've not come close to playing any of our best soccer lately. So it's important to either have the guys play more cohesively in an offensive strategy that works, or find a coach that can bring some offense to this team. I like Gavin's GM skills, he finds players very well, but can he mix them together and coach, that's the question that I think gets answered in the next 7 games.
Last night was a start, with Bryan Little playing some of his best footy all year with pinpoint passes and some great corners/crosses, and Lawrence Olum with stellar work in the controlling mid. And Bryan Jordan's goal was a sight to see, as he made a few moves and made a sweet shot. He played tirelessly all game, and was a huge catalyst for the offense. Miguel Guante, Cameron Knowles and Byron Alvarez were also very serviceable in their respective position. The problem was that we didn't have enough of that consistently, and we gave away points tonight.
On a lighter note, I'd also like to point out our kit sponsor this year, Nike. Their newest design is flashy, form fitting and apparently made of rice paper. These kits must be tear away, cause I can't explain how many games guys get shirts torn and it appears quite easily. Chris Bagley was in the game for less than 2 minutes, and his name went from Bagley to Ba in that quick of time. I know kits get tugged on a lot, but seriously, unless you want our team looking like Captain James T. Kirk battling the Gorn, do some quality control here and choose another design. Cameron Knowles had his 13th kit destroyed and we resorted to our wonderful add number with sharpie tactic for the second half. At least that was better than Larry Olum's taped on number that lasted 10 seconds during one of our friendlies.
But all we can do is lace them up again, and go after Montreal on Saturday. They've traditionally played well here, but in an ironic twist, we tend to beat them at their home. Right now, 35 points probably gets you into the playoffs, and the Timbers have 25 points with 7 games left to play, so there is a potential of 21 points left for them. We just need to take a game at a time, and it starts on Saturday, the 16th. Hope to see you all there, ready to stand and chant. Rose City Til I Die!
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