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| Pleasant? God, no. Accurate. Umm.... |
Bad game, bad result, bad entertainment and, most damning of all, the Portland Timbers played its third “low-energy game” in a row. The only thing saving Portland from a richly-deserved drop to sixth place is the rolling shit-show churning below them. And, so, with a hearty thanks to Real Salt Lake, Minnesota United FC, and, so far, the Los Angeles Galaxy, let’s stare at this turd only for as long as it takes to confirm its shape and composition (don’t worry; won’t use that for the image), and move on.
As the numbers show, that sucked. Aside from losing 2-0 to a half-awake Colorado Rapids team, Portland lost every statistical category besides possession, total passes and passing accuracy - and who gives a shit about those? - and the standard, sharper markers of persistent struggle and failure, clearances, fouls, yellow cards. The Timbers looked good for a draw, at best, up to the point where Colorado scored, but it was a slow bleed to nowhere but another Rapids goal from there…and it’s worth asking, did any Timbers defender have the foggiest fucking idea where any running Rapid was on Colorado’s insurance goal?
There’s nothing to analyze from that loss, honestly, no positives, no promising leads, no what ifs. Reading the cold, hard math, the Timbers will either get the six points of nine that they should get from their final three games (v San Jose, at RSL, v Austin), or they won’t - and let the flood wash over them if they fail.
I don’t have a lot of notes on this one, but, here goes.
The End of an Era…and All That Means
I’ve worried about how Diego Valeri’s career would end earlier than I should have - which is to say, I was wrong and he had a great 2020 - but I’ll be damned if tonight didn’t confirm that the end is nigh, if not already here. One strong shot off a practice-pitch corner aside, I wouldn’t have even known Valeri was on the field tonight. And yet he was, and for 76 minutes.
No player can post the kind of numbers Valeri has without making the team he plays for a whole lot better. Valeri has done that since his arrival and, while Sebastian Blanco’s a great ‘n’ feisty player - by which I mean entirely elite in his own right (when healthy) - the Timbers haven’t come close to replacing Valeri’s production, neither on in terms of raw numbers nor where he lined up on the field. The next (entirely familiar) thought follow from there…
They Did It, So Why Can’t We?
When Kellyn Acosta (a sometimes starter for the U.S. Men) stepped off, he had long time MLS veteran Steve Beitashour to 1) replace him, and 2) reconfigure how Colorado played. When Diego Rubio stepped off, the more dynamic and flexible Jonathan Lewis came on for him, and when Dominique Badji stepped off, the relentless, talented Michael Barrios came on. But, wait! There’s more! Late in the game, Nicolas Mezquida came on for Cole Bassett and Andre Shinyashiki came on for Mark-Anthony (Fucking) Kaye.
Portland, meanwhile, called in George Fochive for (the largely invisible) Renzo Zambrano, current team goat (as opposed to G.O.A.T.) Juancarlos Van Rankin came on for Larrys Mabiala, Marvin Loria came on for a visibly spent Valeri and, who gives a shit later, Jaroslaw Niezgoda came on for Pablo Bonilla because…I got nothing, but would love to hear what the entire fucking sum of all that means for the Timbers’ future. The only question to ask yourself here is, would you rather have had the Rapids' substitutions tonight or Portland's? And I will absolutely call you a liar if you say the Timbers.
The push to get Gavin Wilkinson chucked came from an entirely correct place: if the choices you’ve made follow the Catholic Church’s playbook over the second half of the 20th century, you’re doing countless things wrong from that exact point forward. But to get straight-up fucking schooled by a low-spending, generally resource-strapped team like Colorado? I mean, who talks about “the Colorado Rapids” way besides penny-pinching enthusiasts like me?
And yet, there there are. In the playoffs before the Timbers (and 10 other teams), always competitve despite dropping the odd stupid point(s), but also with more playeers at, around or just a little after their prime than any (consisently) good player for Portland. The cold, hard fact is, all signs point to the Rapids having a brighter future than Portland right now.
Bottom line, I have no fucking idea how the Portland Timbers’ 2021 will end. I only know I’m no longer optimistic. Going the other way, I struggled to see the turn around that lasted from Weeks 21 to 28, so maybe I’m not the best of judges.
What I don’t see is a winning formula - at least not one beyond the defense playing lights-out from here until MLS Cup - and, late form aside, all that feels structural in a way I’ve chosen not to worry about since the start of 2021. This season is one thing. My larger anxiety is that I have no fucking idea what the future will look like after Valeri, Diego Chara and, a couple years later, Sebastian Blanco moves into retirement.
Nothing raises my anxiety about all that quite like seeing the talent and average age of the players the Rapids called off the bench tonight. Between the standings and projections into the future, it looks like one team is doing it right (Colorado; it’s Colorado) while another is living in the past.
Here’s to hoping the Timbers save themselves mid-week…
As the numbers show, that sucked. Aside from losing 2-0 to a half-awake Colorado Rapids team, Portland lost every statistical category besides possession, total passes and passing accuracy - and who gives a shit about those? - and the standard, sharper markers of persistent struggle and failure, clearances, fouls, yellow cards. The Timbers looked good for a draw, at best, up to the point where Colorado scored, but it was a slow bleed to nowhere but another Rapids goal from there…and it’s worth asking, did any Timbers defender have the foggiest fucking idea where any running Rapid was on Colorado’s insurance goal?
There’s nothing to analyze from that loss, honestly, no positives, no promising leads, no what ifs. Reading the cold, hard math, the Timbers will either get the six points of nine that they should get from their final three games (v San Jose, at RSL, v Austin), or they won’t - and let the flood wash over them if they fail.
I don’t have a lot of notes on this one, but, here goes.
The End of an Era…and All That Means
I’ve worried about how Diego Valeri’s career would end earlier than I should have - which is to say, I was wrong and he had a great 2020 - but I’ll be damned if tonight didn’t confirm that the end is nigh, if not already here. One strong shot off a practice-pitch corner aside, I wouldn’t have even known Valeri was on the field tonight. And yet he was, and for 76 minutes.
No player can post the kind of numbers Valeri has without making the team he plays for a whole lot better. Valeri has done that since his arrival and, while Sebastian Blanco’s a great ‘n’ feisty player - by which I mean entirely elite in his own right (when healthy) - the Timbers haven’t come close to replacing Valeri’s production, neither on in terms of raw numbers nor where he lined up on the field. The next (entirely familiar) thought follow from there…
They Did It, So Why Can’t We?
When Kellyn Acosta (a sometimes starter for the U.S. Men) stepped off, he had long time MLS veteran Steve Beitashour to 1) replace him, and 2) reconfigure how Colorado played. When Diego Rubio stepped off, the more dynamic and flexible Jonathan Lewis came on for him, and when Dominique Badji stepped off, the relentless, talented Michael Barrios came on. But, wait! There’s more! Late in the game, Nicolas Mezquida came on for Cole Bassett and Andre Shinyashiki came on for Mark-Anthony (Fucking) Kaye.
Portland, meanwhile, called in George Fochive for (the largely invisible) Renzo Zambrano, current team goat (as opposed to G.O.A.T.) Juancarlos Van Rankin came on for Larrys Mabiala, Marvin Loria came on for a visibly spent Valeri and, who gives a shit later, Jaroslaw Niezgoda came on for Pablo Bonilla because…I got nothing, but would love to hear what the entire fucking sum of all that means for the Timbers’ future. The only question to ask yourself here is, would you rather have had the Rapids' substitutions tonight or Portland's? And I will absolutely call you a liar if you say the Timbers.
The push to get Gavin Wilkinson chucked came from an entirely correct place: if the choices you’ve made follow the Catholic Church’s playbook over the second half of the 20th century, you’re doing countless things wrong from that exact point forward. But to get straight-up fucking schooled by a low-spending, generally resource-strapped team like Colorado? I mean, who talks about “the Colorado Rapids” way besides penny-pinching enthusiasts like me?
And yet, there there are. In the playoffs before the Timbers (and 10 other teams), always competitve despite dropping the odd stupid point(s), but also with more playeers at, around or just a little after their prime than any (consisently) good player for Portland. The cold, hard fact is, all signs point to the Rapids having a brighter future than Portland right now.
Bottom line, I have no fucking idea how the Portland Timbers’ 2021 will end. I only know I’m no longer optimistic. Going the other way, I struggled to see the turn around that lasted from Weeks 21 to 28, so maybe I’m not the best of judges.
What I don’t see is a winning formula - at least not one beyond the defense playing lights-out from here until MLS Cup - and, late form aside, all that feels structural in a way I’ve chosen not to worry about since the start of 2021. This season is one thing. My larger anxiety is that I have no fucking idea what the future will look like after Valeri, Diego Chara and, a couple years later, Sebastian Blanco moves into retirement.
Nothing raises my anxiety about all that quite like seeing the talent and average age of the players the Rapids called off the bench tonight. Between the standings and projections into the future, it looks like one team is doing it right (Colorado; it’s Colorado) while another is living in the past.
Here’s to hoping the Timbers save themselves mid-week…
I delayed in commenting because- well - I can't add anything meaningful to your "They Did It, So Why Can’t We?" section. Well put!
ReplyDeleteI think the pre-2020 financial health of the Timbers business papered over any urgent concern about whether the guys on the field would competitive in a post-Diegos era. Now that it appears that Covid has diminished the current crowds by at least 20% from 2019 (my eyeball judgement), the organization belatedly may be realizing that they might be offering a sub-standard "product" in 2022 to lure folks back with. So, yes- why oh why did they not plan better for the future?
Wilkinson and Gio were "good enough" when it was a full house every home match, no matter what. When the Colorados and New Englands are fielding well-constructed teams that are affordable under their modest crowd-appropriate budgets, maybe time for Paulson to leave his current, staff comfort zone?