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| Perhaps the greatest team player. |
With this post, I intend to put the Portland Timbers’ whimper of a 2023 season to bed. My gods, where to begin…
For starters, I could dismiss the desperate optimism that percolated into the final preview post of the regular season: no matter what I and gods know how many others thought or hoped, 2023 was a hopeless, wet turd. Even had the Timbers backed into the playoffs, it wouldn’t have given any of us, be it fan, player, coach, or the guy that washes team’s laundry, anything more than the chance to say, “well, at least we had that.” If some parallel timeline exists where the Timbers lifted MLS Cup at the end of a mind-bending playoff run, many, many threads separate that loin-stirring paradise timeline from...well, this. Even if they started healthy and stayed that way all season, I’d put the Timbers’ meaningful chances of winning any trophy on the same level as a tiny snowball’s chance of rolling through a vast, flaming Hell without sweating off even one drop.
Changes are coming, of course. I believe we’ve all the seen reports that Portland will name the new head coach sometime in the next week and, for what it’s worth, I’m weirdly excited about this and completely willing to give whoever they hire a full, 17-game grace period, i.e., half of what I expect next season will be (surely, they can’t push that higher). That’s less to say I can't be disappointed by the announcement, than I can’t conceptualize the universe where they name someone so what-the-fuck (think Lincoln High’s soccer coach, and by slipping him a greasy $100) that I won’t give the new coach time to prove himself or herself. (I don’t believe any women have been named, but a woman wouldn’t count as a what-the-fuck hire for me.)
I don’t think I’ve made any secret of my belief that the general malaise and inadequacy starts with the roster – one that, to my mind, falls short individually, collectively, perhaps even interpersonally. No matter how much sense various snippets of reddit chatter make to me, I’ll leave that last one alone, and on the grounds that I don’t know how many hands it passed through before I read it, but my money’s on fourth-hand, once removed at best.
For starters, I could dismiss the desperate optimism that percolated into the final preview post of the regular season: no matter what I and gods know how many others thought or hoped, 2023 was a hopeless, wet turd. Even had the Timbers backed into the playoffs, it wouldn’t have given any of us, be it fan, player, coach, or the guy that washes team’s laundry, anything more than the chance to say, “well, at least we had that.” If some parallel timeline exists where the Timbers lifted MLS Cup at the end of a mind-bending playoff run, many, many threads separate that loin-stirring paradise timeline from...well, this. Even if they started healthy and stayed that way all season, I’d put the Timbers’ meaningful chances of winning any trophy on the same level as a tiny snowball’s chance of rolling through a vast, flaming Hell without sweating off even one drop.
Changes are coming, of course. I believe we’ve all the seen reports that Portland will name the new head coach sometime in the next week and, for what it’s worth, I’m weirdly excited about this and completely willing to give whoever they hire a full, 17-game grace period, i.e., half of what I expect next season will be (surely, they can’t push that higher). That’s less to say I can't be disappointed by the announcement, than I can’t conceptualize the universe where they name someone so what-the-fuck (think Lincoln High’s soccer coach, and by slipping him a greasy $100) that I won’t give the new coach time to prove himself or herself. (I don’t believe any women have been named, but a woman wouldn’t count as a what-the-fuck hire for me.)
I don’t think I’ve made any secret of my belief that the general malaise and inadequacy starts with the roster – one that, to my mind, falls short individually, collectively, perhaps even interpersonally. No matter how much sense various snippets of reddit chatter make to me, I’ll leave that last one alone, and on the grounds that I don’t know how many hands it passed through before I read it, but my money’s on fourth-hand, once removed at best.
What I do know, if with allowances for the biases and bullshit that inform such opinions, is what I saw from every player on the Timbers roster this season and what I thought of him. And that’s what the rest of this post is – i.e., just riffing on what I see from all those the players and, after that, trying to organize that into a roadmap to get to where I believe the team needs to be…again, this is in some parallel universe where that matters…which is no doubt crawling with terminators battling zombies for the scraps of humanity, and who has time for soccer there except the zombies and the terminators? Also, Team…going with zombies. Terminators have this shitty “Uber mensch” vibe that really just…ew…
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| Or maybe Zombie Terminators would just run it. |
To keep things simple, I’m going to begin with the most-regular starters for 2023, both regular and semi-regular, at each position running from back to front. It should be as easy as putting the position filter on the roster and riffing from there. Right, starting with goalkeepers.
David Bingham/Goalkeeper
I can wrap this one up real quick: Bingham wound up edging out Aljaz Ivacic, but how gives a shit because the Timbers can definitely improve on the former and, by all accounts, the latter wants out of Portland very, very badly. Also, I thought Hunter Suite was a place rugged men stayed before “reconnecting with nature” (by suffering in it, then killing a manifestation of it), until I saw his name is actually “Sulte.” I don’t really know that guy, but it’s pretty clear the Timbers will sign at least a ‘keeper or two, Bingham’s not a terrible back up and, honestly, I just don’t get all that worked up about this position. If the rest of the team plays solid defense, even a guy like Bingham can clean up the rest.
(Generally) Starting Defense
Dario Zuparic
Quite possibly the first name I’d write into the starting XI every week and both head coaches for 2023 made the same call. To acknowledge the unavoidable, one can’t argue any Timbers defender had a great season, not with a record number of goals allowed, but Zup delivered feisty, fighting performances every week – and they fact he played just about every week (31 games started) mattered as much as anything else. I hear he wants to go and that sucks, but I also believe he’ll deliver the same quality if he sticks around in 2024 (which, to be clear, I don’t think he will).
Zac McGraw
The fact it’s totally expected does nothing to diminish the value of Zac’s ability to when every aerial duel that comes within five yards of him. His defending fundamentals are solid enough to make him a good assumption to build around. The biggest question: have we seen his ceiling? My answer: I wish I knew, but I hope not.
Juan David Mosquera
Much like the player immediately below, Mosquera’s play pushes commentary on him to the extremes. Personally, I’m unsettled on him and, like a lot of players, I see more value in waiting to see where and how he fits in the new coach’s scheme than I see in rehashing his success and failures from 2023. That said, Mosquera seems less interested in defending than attacking. Thanks to all that time watching Cincinnati, I see him as a kind of anti-Alvas Powell. Still, he’s young (just 21), reasonably talented and, again, durable. If you haven’t come to value durability after Portland's 2023, I can’t help you…
Claudio Bravo
To be clear, Bravo, along with the three players above really were the regulars in defense for the Timbers in 2023 – and to the tune of Bravo playing nearly twice as many minutes as Eric Miller (2,333 v 1,204). Bravo has one more season in Portland on his resume and…yeah, this is where things get tricky. He’s 26 and far from faultless, particularly on the defensive side (see: lunging, and far too much of it) and, if you combine that with the notes on Mosquera, that leaves McGraw, Zuparic, maybe a couple defensive midfielders and David Bingham as the Portland Timbers last, best line of defense. This is not sustainable.
The question raised by the above: has the time, effort and…”scouting” the Timbers put into signing attacking fullbacks left them with, as a last resort, doing most of its defending with two center backs and a goalkeeper most fans barely rate above average?
(Generally) Starting Midfield
Diego Chara
Second in overall minutes after Zuparic, by the way. To map Chara’s Timbers’ career in clunky nicknames, Captain Dominant became Mr. Reliable, became Professor Genius (aka, the smartest guy on the field in 75% of the games he played, quite possibly in both directions), but I see the writing on the wall in the order of those nicknames. For what it’s worth, I believe the franchise is only just beginning to appreciate how much better Chara made this team in his prime. And that’s…essentially past. It is time. In his, seriously-I’ll-cut-you defense, 2023 was Chara’s 13th (fucking) season with the Timbers. He provided the extra man in defense (more so) and offense (less so) in his over 10 seasons with Portland and the team has embarked on a brave new era of operating without the most fundamental “given” of its MLS existence.
Keep that in your head as I go through the rest of the midfield…
Santiago Moreno
I’ll start by acknowledging that I underrate him; also, he posted real numbers this season – maybe even a little unreal given how much a combination of coaching, injuries and game-plan worked against him hitting them. He also overcame some intense personal shit this season and, once he got past that, busted his ass no matter where Gio or Miles Joseph lined him up. From what I gather, he’s free to leave at this point and I genuinely hope he doesn’t. If nothing else, Moreno’s a player I’d love to see in a new system. Nine assists notwithstanding, he’s less a playmaker than the guy who takes advantage of the playmaker’s delivery and uses it to…mostly make assists, at least so far. All in all, I get the sense he’s at his best beating defenders and playing the obvious pass, rather than the next-level one. Still, that on top of his flexibility and willingness to work makes him a pretty solid assumption to work around.
Evander
Complicated, because you see where the talent meets his approach to the game; Evander doesn’t so much beat players as outsmart them – and I feel fine calling the former more reliable. That said, he posted decent numbers, he generally improved the collective cohesiveness when he played (2,213 minutes; not so bad), and while he’s a couple numbers away from a traditional No. 10, he’s not a bad player. The blunt truth is, Evander fits where he fits; I don’t believe he has any better role than an attack-minded No. 8. And that’s also something you can build around. But that's the point where you necessarily need to start from.
David Bingham/Goalkeeper
I can wrap this one up real quick: Bingham wound up edging out Aljaz Ivacic, but how gives a shit because the Timbers can definitely improve on the former and, by all accounts, the latter wants out of Portland very, very badly. Also, I thought Hunter Suite was a place rugged men stayed before “reconnecting with nature” (by suffering in it, then killing a manifestation of it), until I saw his name is actually “Sulte.” I don’t really know that guy, but it’s pretty clear the Timbers will sign at least a ‘keeper or two, Bingham’s not a terrible back up and, honestly, I just don’t get all that worked up about this position. If the rest of the team plays solid defense, even a guy like Bingham can clean up the rest.
(Generally) Starting Defense
Dario Zuparic
Quite possibly the first name I’d write into the starting XI every week and both head coaches for 2023 made the same call. To acknowledge the unavoidable, one can’t argue any Timbers defender had a great season, not with a record number of goals allowed, but Zup delivered feisty, fighting performances every week – and they fact he played just about every week (31 games started) mattered as much as anything else. I hear he wants to go and that sucks, but I also believe he’ll deliver the same quality if he sticks around in 2024 (which, to be clear, I don’t think he will).
Zac McGraw
The fact it’s totally expected does nothing to diminish the value of Zac’s ability to when every aerial duel that comes within five yards of him. His defending fundamentals are solid enough to make him a good assumption to build around. The biggest question: have we seen his ceiling? My answer: I wish I knew, but I hope not.
Juan David Mosquera
Much like the player immediately below, Mosquera’s play pushes commentary on him to the extremes. Personally, I’m unsettled on him and, like a lot of players, I see more value in waiting to see where and how he fits in the new coach’s scheme than I see in rehashing his success and failures from 2023. That said, Mosquera seems less interested in defending than attacking. Thanks to all that time watching Cincinnati, I see him as a kind of anti-Alvas Powell. Still, he’s young (just 21), reasonably talented and, again, durable. If you haven’t come to value durability after Portland's 2023, I can’t help you…
Claudio Bravo
To be clear, Bravo, along with the three players above really were the regulars in defense for the Timbers in 2023 – and to the tune of Bravo playing nearly twice as many minutes as Eric Miller (2,333 v 1,204). Bravo has one more season in Portland on his resume and…yeah, this is where things get tricky. He’s 26 and far from faultless, particularly on the defensive side (see: lunging, and far too much of it) and, if you combine that with the notes on Mosquera, that leaves McGraw, Zuparic, maybe a couple defensive midfielders and David Bingham as the Portland Timbers last, best line of defense. This is not sustainable.
The question raised by the above: has the time, effort and…”scouting” the Timbers put into signing attacking fullbacks left them with, as a last resort, doing most of its defending with two center backs and a goalkeeper most fans barely rate above average?
(Generally) Starting Midfield
Diego Chara
Second in overall minutes after Zuparic, by the way. To map Chara’s Timbers’ career in clunky nicknames, Captain Dominant became Mr. Reliable, became Professor Genius (aka, the smartest guy on the field in 75% of the games he played, quite possibly in both directions), but I see the writing on the wall in the order of those nicknames. For what it’s worth, I believe the franchise is only just beginning to appreciate how much better Chara made this team in his prime. And that’s…essentially past. It is time. In his, seriously-I’ll-cut-you defense, 2023 was Chara’s 13th (fucking) season with the Timbers. He provided the extra man in defense (more so) and offense (less so) in his over 10 seasons with Portland and the team has embarked on a brave new era of operating without the most fundamental “given” of its MLS existence.
Keep that in your head as I go through the rest of the midfield…
Santiago Moreno
I’ll start by acknowledging that I underrate him; also, he posted real numbers this season – maybe even a little unreal given how much a combination of coaching, injuries and game-plan worked against him hitting them. He also overcame some intense personal shit this season and, once he got past that, busted his ass no matter where Gio or Miles Joseph lined him up. From what I gather, he’s free to leave at this point and I genuinely hope he doesn’t. If nothing else, Moreno’s a player I’d love to see in a new system. Nine assists notwithstanding, he’s less a playmaker than the guy who takes advantage of the playmaker’s delivery and uses it to…mostly make assists, at least so far. All in all, I get the sense he’s at his best beating defenders and playing the obvious pass, rather than the next-level one. Still, that on top of his flexibility and willingness to work makes him a pretty solid assumption to work around.
Evander
Complicated, because you see where the talent meets his approach to the game; Evander doesn’t so much beat players as outsmart them – and I feel fine calling the former more reliable. That said, he posted decent numbers, he generally improved the collective cohesiveness when he played (2,213 minutes; not so bad), and while he’s a couple numbers away from a traditional No. 10, he’s not a bad player. The blunt truth is, Evander fits where he fits; I don’t believe he has any better role than an attack-minded No. 8. And that’s also something you can build around. But that's the point where you necessarily need to start from.
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| Queen. |
Cristhian Paredes
Good morning, Buzzsaw! Have I told you that I’m worried half of Paredes’ value follows from a lack of options?
I know this will be my most hated and vigorously shit-on take in this post, but I still rate Paredes as, at best, an average MLS No. 8: his defensive game has improved, and quite a bit, but he doesn’t have the smart bite of the best defensive midfielders and he barely rates as a goal-scoring threat (seriously). I’d love to see the new coach set up the attack with Paredes making a late run as a second look on a cross, but I also don’t see him crossing over into greatness until he ups his passing game. Excuse me, what’s that? You’d like me to twist the knife while I’m here?
I think Nick Grabavoy should entertain serious offers for Paredes – and, here, serious means something around Julian Gressel level, i.e., a team can't get him without throwing in a real drop of blood. That comments less on his value to the team than weighing the question of where he fits in a midfield with Evander and, sure, Moreno. Basically, why not see what you can get for Paredes and see if you can’t parlay that into a good player who plays more like a traditional six. That said, health and extended recovery for a couple players named below could change that calculation…with emphasis on “could.” The key word here is "serious."
Because I don’t know what to call the…mess that existed before Felipe Mora returned to tie the whole thing together…
Forwardingers?
Franck Boli
If I rated players on effort alone, I would write odes that would make Franck Boli blush. Most games, the man tries hard as any player on both teams, but that all that running and battling doesn’t produce anything tangible, never mind a starting forward’s tally of goals. To further complicate things, he seems like a player who has to grow into a game, i.e., sort out how to translate all that athleticism into a goal or two. So long as he’s not breaking the bank (don’t know; won’t look it up…and, wait, isn’t that subjective?), I’m fine with him on the roster…just not in the Starting XI, unless he’s spelling someone sharper…or until he can produce more.
Dairon Asprilla
A bit limited on minutes (though down only ~600 minutes from his 2,095 peak in 2021), but a steady, if familiar contributor after that. His game is blunt and I’ve heard decent arguments that say the Timbers haven’t harnessed that (looking at you, John Brewer, Jr.)…and I also think they’ll have the opportunity to sort that out till the end of time, because I can’t see anyone trying to poach Asprilla and I’m fine with that. He'll never carry a team to glory, but he has clear upsides – e.g., strong as a bull, powerful runner, capable of keeping an attack going, good for the odd, glorious moment of invention – and I think a smarter coach can get more out of him…maybe say by crossing to him in the box from the opposite side.
Believe it or not, the only other player on the Timbers’ roster who logged more than 1,000 minutes in 2023 was:
Eric Miller
Pretty clear depth signing, but steady enough to challenge for real minutes and large/flexible enough to operate with three or four at the back. A good (enough) piece if Portland can keep him. I’d prefer to see the F.O. focus on finding a defender likely to start ahead of Miller.
The minutes per player fall off rather alarmingly from there – and, to be clear, I’ve listed just 12 players so far, two of them goalkeepers. Whether by inability or absence, it’s picking through the dregs from here and seeing who the team can salvage for future seasons. And that’s where things get, for lack of a better phrase, pretty bleak. As scores of people have said, probably just today alone, a good player can’t help the team if he can’t play. As for the rest, it’s a mix of projects, long-term projects and…would any of us call them prospects?
Continuing on, by position, still back-to-front, listed in the order of most minutes played to least for each group:
Defender/Fullback
Larrys Mabiala
Love the guy, he logged several respectable seasons, but he’s done.
Justin Rasmussen
I see his total minutes (332) as a statement on what fans can see: Rasmussen has neither role nor upside in the first team - i.e., they don't even see him as an option to lock down Portland's left to close out the game. The Timbers are thin enough at fullback to make Miller feel like a god-send. Old as he is (24), I don’t see much ceiling for him to grow into…I mean, isn’t there some hot-shit fullback dominating somewhere in the USL?
Miguel Araujo
I’m willing to let him find his feet, but he lost ‘em all the way and more than once in his 174 minutes on the field. Made quite an impression…
Grimly, that’s it for fullback/defenders. Send help.
Midfielders
Eryk Williamson
All in all, I don’t think the Timbers can either rely on or trade/sell Williamson. His knees are clearly fragile and playing on 18-20 games annually on turf next season or any others won’t make them any stronger. Here’s to hoping the doctors see something I don’t…and that they’re telling Eryk the truth about his chances of full, productive recovery, not to mention what his knees will look like (and support) when he’s 40. I’d love to see him recover, but, bluntly, I don’t expect he’ll ever be the player he was.
Bryan Acosta
He seems to possess a couple traits the Timbers could use – e.g., tenacity, good, long-range, switch-field-style passing – but he can’t do himself or anyone else any good until he gets off “seems.” I didn’t get a lot of time to look at him (he played just 457 minutes all season, and I missed a chunk of those), but if he can develop into a player who tackles often and well (even if not always clean), has the positional discipline for the position, and can move the ball quickly, that is the player/skill-set I see the Timbers needing as much as any on the field. Also, hold that thought*.
Noel Caliskan
He looked fine for someone in over his head over the few minutes I watched him play (note: probably wasn’t all of that 264). I’m willing to give him a couple years – plus he’s a depth piece for now.
David Ayala
* I think the skill-set I grafted onto Acosta is what (passes for?) Timbers scouting saw in Ayala. And, to voice an opinion, I believe I saw glimpses of it…hold on. Ayala played a total of 162 minutes this season? The truth or fiction of my sliver of observation aside, I’m willing to give Ayala either two more years or one more injury to prove himself not just useful – because the Timbers have enough of that - but valuable.
Victor Griffith
Really? That’s a guy?
Good morning, Buzzsaw! Have I told you that I’m worried half of Paredes’ value follows from a lack of options?
I know this will be my most hated and vigorously shit-on take in this post, but I still rate Paredes as, at best, an average MLS No. 8: his defensive game has improved, and quite a bit, but he doesn’t have the smart bite of the best defensive midfielders and he barely rates as a goal-scoring threat (seriously). I’d love to see the new coach set up the attack with Paredes making a late run as a second look on a cross, but I also don’t see him crossing over into greatness until he ups his passing game. Excuse me, what’s that? You’d like me to twist the knife while I’m here?
I think Nick Grabavoy should entertain serious offers for Paredes – and, here, serious means something around Julian Gressel level, i.e., a team can't get him without throwing in a real drop of blood. That comments less on his value to the team than weighing the question of where he fits in a midfield with Evander and, sure, Moreno. Basically, why not see what you can get for Paredes and see if you can’t parlay that into a good player who plays more like a traditional six. That said, health and extended recovery for a couple players named below could change that calculation…with emphasis on “could.” The key word here is "serious."
Because I don’t know what to call the…mess that existed before Felipe Mora returned to tie the whole thing together…
Forwardingers?
Franck Boli
If I rated players on effort alone, I would write odes that would make Franck Boli blush. Most games, the man tries hard as any player on both teams, but that all that running and battling doesn’t produce anything tangible, never mind a starting forward’s tally of goals. To further complicate things, he seems like a player who has to grow into a game, i.e., sort out how to translate all that athleticism into a goal or two. So long as he’s not breaking the bank (don’t know; won’t look it up…and, wait, isn’t that subjective?), I’m fine with him on the roster…just not in the Starting XI, unless he’s spelling someone sharper…or until he can produce more.
Dairon Asprilla
A bit limited on minutes (though down only ~600 minutes from his 2,095 peak in 2021), but a steady, if familiar contributor after that. His game is blunt and I’ve heard decent arguments that say the Timbers haven’t harnessed that (looking at you, John Brewer, Jr.)…and I also think they’ll have the opportunity to sort that out till the end of time, because I can’t see anyone trying to poach Asprilla and I’m fine with that. He'll never carry a team to glory, but he has clear upsides – e.g., strong as a bull, powerful runner, capable of keeping an attack going, good for the odd, glorious moment of invention – and I think a smarter coach can get more out of him…maybe say by crossing to him in the box from the opposite side.
Believe it or not, the only other player on the Timbers’ roster who logged more than 1,000 minutes in 2023 was:
Eric Miller
Pretty clear depth signing, but steady enough to challenge for real minutes and large/flexible enough to operate with three or four at the back. A good (enough) piece if Portland can keep him. I’d prefer to see the F.O. focus on finding a defender likely to start ahead of Miller.
The minutes per player fall off rather alarmingly from there – and, to be clear, I’ve listed just 12 players so far, two of them goalkeepers. Whether by inability or absence, it’s picking through the dregs from here and seeing who the team can salvage for future seasons. And that’s where things get, for lack of a better phrase, pretty bleak. As scores of people have said, probably just today alone, a good player can’t help the team if he can’t play. As for the rest, it’s a mix of projects, long-term projects and…would any of us call them prospects?
Continuing on, by position, still back-to-front, listed in the order of most minutes played to least for each group:
Defender/Fullback
Larrys Mabiala
Love the guy, he logged several respectable seasons, but he’s done.
Justin Rasmussen
I see his total minutes (332) as a statement on what fans can see: Rasmussen has neither role nor upside in the first team - i.e., they don't even see him as an option to lock down Portland's left to close out the game. The Timbers are thin enough at fullback to make Miller feel like a god-send. Old as he is (24), I don’t see much ceiling for him to grow into…I mean, isn’t there some hot-shit fullback dominating somewhere in the USL?
Miguel Araujo
I’m willing to let him find his feet, but he lost ‘em all the way and more than once in his 174 minutes on the field. Made quite an impression…
Grimly, that’s it for fullback/defenders. Send help.
Midfielders
Eryk Williamson
All in all, I don’t think the Timbers can either rely on or trade/sell Williamson. His knees are clearly fragile and playing on 18-20 games annually on turf next season or any others won’t make them any stronger. Here’s to hoping the doctors see something I don’t…and that they’re telling Eryk the truth about his chances of full, productive recovery, not to mention what his knees will look like (and support) when he’s 40. I’d love to see him recover, but, bluntly, I don’t expect he’ll ever be the player he was.
Bryan Acosta
He seems to possess a couple traits the Timbers could use – e.g., tenacity, good, long-range, switch-field-style passing – but he can’t do himself or anyone else any good until he gets off “seems.” I didn’t get a lot of time to look at him (he played just 457 minutes all season, and I missed a chunk of those), but if he can develop into a player who tackles often and well (even if not always clean), has the positional discipline for the position, and can move the ball quickly, that is the player/skill-set I see the Timbers needing as much as any on the field. Also, hold that thought*.
Noel Caliskan
He looked fine for someone in over his head over the few minutes I watched him play (note: probably wasn’t all of that 264). I’m willing to give him a couple years – plus he’s a depth piece for now.
David Ayala
* I think the skill-set I grafted onto Acosta is what (passes for?) Timbers scouting saw in Ayala. And, to voice an opinion, I believe I saw glimpses of it…hold on. Ayala played a total of 162 minutes this season? The truth or fiction of my sliver of observation aside, I’m willing to give Ayala either two more years or one more injury to prove himself not just useful – because the Timbers have enough of that - but valuable.
Victor Griffith
Really? That’s a guy?
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| What you get when you google "Forwardingers." |
Forwardingers
Marvin Loria
His biggest upside – one-v-one dribbling – doesn’t rise so high and I can’t remember the last time I saw his thought process shift out of second gear. The guy has had five years and I don’t see one more changing anything. Cut bait as soon as you can, and pray you can trade him.
Yimmi Chara
In his defense, his career stats pleasantly surprise me every time I check them. Yimmi has never posted DP numbers – he’s just short of four goals/season and just above seven assists/same - but I can’t blame the man for the salary they pay him…also, yes, they overpaid for Yimmi. The rare signing that justifies whispers about fan service.
Felipe Mora
For me, no other Timber does as much to bring coherence to Portland’s attack. Mora’s not a DP-level striker, but he has the brains and general wherewithal of 1.5 players. All that relies on him remaining whole, hale and hearty, something that’s far from guaranteed, but he’s worth a bird-and-a-half-in-the-hand, at a minimum, so long as he does. Mora’s worth the gamble, in my mind.
Jaroslaw Niezgoda
That mule’s done whipped. And, per late reports, he’s leaving. Next…
Nathan Fogaca
Go. Be a fucking king in the USL. Go. (In all seriousness, the guy hustles his shorts off and has a couple tricks, but you don’t need him as a sub so long as you’ve got Boli. He's redundant, basically.)
Sebastian Blanco
He’s more free radical than team player, and yet still feels like he’d kill for the team without asking too many questions. But is he up for that anymore? I don’t think anyone wants Blanco to stay for more than a year, but how much roster space and salary can the team burn on a player with one foot out the door?
Antony
This one’s easy: I haven’t seen enough, reserving judgment, etc.
Tega Ikoba
Oh, yes. I remember grasping for this straw at the start of the 2023 season, as well as that goal he scored in a cause so lost that it forgot what it was fighting for, yes. For the most part, see what I wrote about Antony. In the here and now, I get that he’s young (just 20), but I’m also looking at a player who is 6’3”, 198 lbs. and thinking of all those crosses the Timbers play into and (in fairness) over the box. Maybe Ikoba gets onto one or two. Then maybe the team starts looking for his runs…I dunno, seems like people have tried crazier things.
Right, that’s everybody, plus Vernon Griffith. As for what I learned from all this, going from back to front once more:
The Timbers need a starting-caliber goalkeeper.
The Timbers need a starting-caliber center-back.
The Timbers need at least one fullback, but would do better to get two, one for either side of the field. Here, I’d either look for a stronger defensive player, ideally one who can help with ball progression and, in a pinch, complement the attack one way or the other. The main thing I’d want is an option that isn’t Eric Miller and effectively playing with a back three…unless you start with a back three, which I’m still fine with (just needs more time. probably.)
The Timbers need a bulldog of a defensive midfielder, but one who’s a really strong, simple passer, both long and short. This is less about shooting for the stars than figuring out how to give the sunk cost (aka, Evander) more time and space to focus on operating. That begs the question: can I see Diego Chara in this role for another season? Ummmmmm…………………………….
Unless they can get something out of Ikoba in the near-term, or try playing Asprilla as a target forward (HT: John Brewer, Jr.), the Timbers need a ready-made forward of some kind, someone between Boli and Mora.
Can the Timbers get or have all that? I have no idea and also less than no desire to look into the roster rules, time left on various contracts, and all the other steps that go into making decisions I have no control over. I see everything from the notes on Ikoba to this sentence as a kind of check-list of things to keep in the back of your mind as you watch Portland’s off-season roster moves. This doesn't have to be linear either - for instance, if they add the right player – e.g., the defensive midfielder I waxed pathetic-poetic about three paragraphs above – that creates opportunities for current players, say, freeing Moreno to play as an actual winger.
If I had to name the three greatest positions of need, I’d go with…
1) Goalkeeper, because Ivacic is (almost certainly) gone.
2) The fullback described above.
3) Tough call, but I’m going with the fantasy defensive midfielder described above.
To be clear, I am very open-minded about all of this, up to including trying Chara as the fullback described in #2. Getting the right players could go quite a ways to putting current players in better positions to succeed.
We’ll see how it goes between now and…somewhere around March, right? Till the next one…which I think will be either a league-wide event, or one for each conference
Marvin Loria
His biggest upside – one-v-one dribbling – doesn’t rise so high and I can’t remember the last time I saw his thought process shift out of second gear. The guy has had five years and I don’t see one more changing anything. Cut bait as soon as you can, and pray you can trade him.
Yimmi Chara
In his defense, his career stats pleasantly surprise me every time I check them. Yimmi has never posted DP numbers – he’s just short of four goals/season and just above seven assists/same - but I can’t blame the man for the salary they pay him…also, yes, they overpaid for Yimmi. The rare signing that justifies whispers about fan service.
Felipe Mora
For me, no other Timber does as much to bring coherence to Portland’s attack. Mora’s not a DP-level striker, but he has the brains and general wherewithal of 1.5 players. All that relies on him remaining whole, hale and hearty, something that’s far from guaranteed, but he’s worth a bird-and-a-half-in-the-hand, at a minimum, so long as he does. Mora’s worth the gamble, in my mind.
Jaroslaw Niezgoda
That mule’s done whipped. And, per late reports, he’s leaving. Next…
Nathan Fogaca
Go. Be a fucking king in the USL. Go. (In all seriousness, the guy hustles his shorts off and has a couple tricks, but you don’t need him as a sub so long as you’ve got Boli. He's redundant, basically.)
Sebastian Blanco
He’s more free radical than team player, and yet still feels like he’d kill for the team without asking too many questions. But is he up for that anymore? I don’t think anyone wants Blanco to stay for more than a year, but how much roster space and salary can the team burn on a player with one foot out the door?
Antony
This one’s easy: I haven’t seen enough, reserving judgment, etc.
Tega Ikoba
Oh, yes. I remember grasping for this straw at the start of the 2023 season, as well as that goal he scored in a cause so lost that it forgot what it was fighting for, yes. For the most part, see what I wrote about Antony. In the here and now, I get that he’s young (just 20), but I’m also looking at a player who is 6’3”, 198 lbs. and thinking of all those crosses the Timbers play into and (in fairness) over the box. Maybe Ikoba gets onto one or two. Then maybe the team starts looking for his runs…I dunno, seems like people have tried crazier things.
Right, that’s everybody, plus Vernon Griffith. As for what I learned from all this, going from back to front once more:
The Timbers need a starting-caliber goalkeeper.
The Timbers need a starting-caliber center-back.
The Timbers need at least one fullback, but would do better to get two, one for either side of the field. Here, I’d either look for a stronger defensive player, ideally one who can help with ball progression and, in a pinch, complement the attack one way or the other. The main thing I’d want is an option that isn’t Eric Miller and effectively playing with a back three…unless you start with a back three, which I’m still fine with (just needs more time. probably.)
The Timbers need a bulldog of a defensive midfielder, but one who’s a really strong, simple passer, both long and short. This is less about shooting for the stars than figuring out how to give the sunk cost (aka, Evander) more time and space to focus on operating. That begs the question: can I see Diego Chara in this role for another season? Ummmmmm…………………………….
Unless they can get something out of Ikoba in the near-term, or try playing Asprilla as a target forward (HT: John Brewer, Jr.), the Timbers need a ready-made forward of some kind, someone between Boli and Mora.
Can the Timbers get or have all that? I have no idea and also less than no desire to look into the roster rules, time left on various contracts, and all the other steps that go into making decisions I have no control over. I see everything from the notes on Ikoba to this sentence as a kind of check-list of things to keep in the back of your mind as you watch Portland’s off-season roster moves. This doesn't have to be linear either - for instance, if they add the right player – e.g., the defensive midfielder I waxed pathetic-poetic about three paragraphs above – that creates opportunities for current players, say, freeing Moreno to play as an actual winger.
If I had to name the three greatest positions of need, I’d go with…
1) Goalkeeper, because Ivacic is (almost certainly) gone.
2) The fullback described above.
3) Tough call, but I’m going with the fantasy defensive midfielder described above.
To be clear, I am very open-minded about all of this, up to including trying Chara as the fullback described in #2. Getting the right players could go quite a ways to putting current players in better positions to succeed.
We’ll see how it goes between now and…somewhere around March, right? Till the next one…which I think will be either a league-wide event, or one for each conference
Re. our next coach- I ponder, and waffle on whether the new coach's task is one of just applying calm logic and past experience to the Timbers situation, or whether we need an iconoclast who blows a lot of it up for the rebuild? Contractual realities will favor the first approach. I get it. But, is our old-style, go-find-some-hidden- gems-in-Latin America tactic our only option? Does a real academy and a true USL development team just waste money for the club? Will our current owner want to make the Timbers great to spite his loud social media critics, no matter the financial cost to him?
ReplyDeleteYou take the reasonable approach to team analysis. What player is or isn't getting it done. Who should be retained or shown the door. You deal with the knowable surface. I make myself crazy by fretting over the thoughts of people in a totally opaque front office. Keep it up. I need the sane view.
I like to think of a "crazy" approach as complementary to the sane view; I think it helps that the totally opaque front office knows people are thinking of such things.
DeleteTo your points not just on the new coach, but the way the Timbers bring it all together...shit, that's a lot. I have to admit that the lack of interest in the academy has always confused me a little. Then again, if you're training players to play "the Timber way," said "way" needs to be effective and gods know i have my doubts about the all-transition-all-the-time approach to things.
Can't wait to see who they shove in front of the podium...