Portland Timbers Suffer Worst Defeat of the Season [Game Review]
by Geoff Gibson on Jun 25, 2011 7:53 PM PDT
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Despite desperately needing a win the Portland Timbers seemingly came out of the locker room with the intention of losing. Little effort was shown at all by a team that was supposedly getting better.
First Half
Believe it or not the Portland Timbers did not the Portland Timbers did not start the game off in terrible shape. In fact for the first thirty minutes or so I would say that the Timbers were largely the more energetic side as they attempted to create chances. They weren't dominating by any means, but I saw a larger hunger in the Timbers players than I did in the Dallas players.
That said, Dallas was not without some serious goal scoring chances in that time either. Within the first 3 minutes the Timbers had almost gifted FC Dallas a free throw header that Eric Brunner was able to clear. Then, in the 18th minute Jackson Goncalves was able to get off an impressive strike from the 20th yard that hit the woodwork in the to right corner.
Portland had a singular goal chance in the 19th minute off a freekick when the ball was punched out by Kevin hartman to Rodney Wallace. Unfortunately Wallace's shot was deflected by Hartman.
Despite not being as eneretic at the Timbers, FC Dallas had more goal chances within the first thirty minutes of the game.
From the 30th minute onward FC Dallas was, by far, the dominant team on the field. They became more energetic, they made more meaningful attacking runs and they seemingly justw anted to win more than the Timbers did. Their efforts paid off rather quickly with a Zach Loyd goal in the 34th minute and then again in the 39th minute by George John.
The first half would close out with FC Dallas leading 2 - 0.
Second Half
Coming into the second half with such a large deficit one would think the Timbers would want to play with a little more urgency, energy and a stronger will to win the game. Unfortunately, if anything, they seemed even more deflated than in the first. Overall the entire second half performance was lackluster, to put it politely and key players were largely non existent.
There's really not much to say about the second half beyond that. Brek Shea scored a goal off a defensive gaf by the Timbers backline in the 58th minute and then Ruben Luna pretty much ends the game in the 85th minute with his first MLS goal ever, and quite possibly one of the easiest goals he'll ever get.
The Portland Timbers made almost no meaningful runs in the second half. Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza, Jack Jewsbury, and every sub that ws brought on were pretty much invisible throughout.
I can analyze the game over and over again, but what it really amounts to is the Timbers just played terribly. They weren't showing any inclination of attempting to win the game. I'd like to be able to point to a single player and say it was his fault, but I can't. This was a team effort at sucking tonight.
Observations
- This was not only the worst game of the season for the Timbers tactically, but it was also the first time the Timbers got scored against by 4 goals.
- Despite the lackluster performance, the Timbers actually had the higher possession at 52%.
- Hey at least we can blame the referee for this one!
- With Chivas USA tying their game tonight this official puts the Timbers second to last in the standings for the Western Conference, four points more than the Vancouver Whitecaps.
- The Timbers continue their road woes. Next week we are, luckily, back at home again.
Your thoughts? Am I being too harsh here?
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Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day
Say what you want about America, thirteen bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice!
I know...
I’m so depressed that no even the Portland sunshine can bring be back out!
RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS
by Geoff Gibson on Jun 25, 2011 8:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Open Tryouts for Portland Timbers Next Week
Might as well have try outs. If these guys can’t get excited about being Portland Timbers then they should look for new jobs. No passion, no fight, poor body language, poor half-a$% effort… just unacceptable. Victory or defeat, you play hard and act like a man every time. Today’s “effort” was embarrassing. Unacceptable. Every single one of them should be ashamed and they better come out with a fire in their a$% next week because there is nowhere to run and hide.
Spencer should have open competition next week and see who really wants to play here. No spot is guaranteed, including his. I’m not expecting miracles in their first MLS season. But with all the support they get I do expect good attitude, hard work, signs of improvement and professionalism. There was none of that today.
Wallace, out. Give Taylor a chance. Could it be worse?
Hall, out. Purdy back in. Could it be worse?
Cooper, out. Chara’, out. Perlaza, out. New formation, whatever. All of them, time to fight for their jobs. No time for sensitivity and coddling. Who wants to play?
Show some pride Timbers!
????
Maybe we just aren’t that good yet. If that’s the case, I hardly think putting our second stringers in is going to help. In fact, our problem is our utter lack of depth. I’d like to see more experimentation too, but is this really the answer? And while Perlaza is not quite getting it done, he has been making killer runs all season long, hardly a lack of effort. Cooper is….well, to be frank, I don’t know, injured? He probably needs to see the bench, but who do we put in his place? Johnson? An out of position Pore? I’d like to see Nagbe up top, but that makes us too small up front, and with Futty out, only Brunner can push up to help with Headers. Given our reliance on set pieces, that doesn’t sound good.
And Chara was the only thing between us and getting murdered on possession. Remember the Galaxy game? That was worse than this(scoreline excepted), and we recovered ok. They could have scored 6 easy if they hadn’t backed off. Our back line is not very good right now, and we probably need to do something. But nuke the team? What is this, the Whitecaps FO?
Say what you want about America, thirteen bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice!
I don't think there's a "maybe" about it
This team isn’t very good. But as you say, there’s a lack of depth that severely limits Spencer’s options at this point. I think looking at this team pre-season, we all sorta knew this might be the way the season shook out, but the home win streak kinda made us all forget that the Timbers aren’t that great this year.
This year is going to be a rollercoaster, and the team is currently in one of the downward dips of the track – hopefully there’s another big fast rise coming up.
The maybe was as opposed to being good, but not playing hard
Sorry for the confusion. I agree, but at the same time, I think the team can gel together. Our offense is good enough right up to the final touch, at which point the ball careens off into the stands over and over. I don’t really know what the fix is, aside from abstract calls to “finish.” The best I can come up with is for one player to become a bigger threat, forcing the defense to tilt, then we can get more chances from elsewhere. But that’s not so much a plan as it is a prayer. I think we need to shift away from the 4-4-2 and give certain players more responsibility for service and playmaking, while allowing players like Chara to do what they do best, rather than trying to use them for service. In particular, it would be nice to see Nagbe moved up to an attacking central mid spot in a 5 mid formation, but I don’t think that’s Spencer’s style, so I guess its just wait and see.
Say what you want about America, thirteen bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice!
It's not the quality I was getting at
because the quality is what it is. I was talking about the poor effort & attitude. Their effort last night is inexcusable and unacceptable.
by yepyou'reright on Jun 26, 2011 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions
I think the problem is that there's nobody on the bench that is better though
All the benchings you suggest are great, but if you take Cooper, Chara, and Perlaza out, who do you replace them with? Spencer is very limited with his bench at this point, and while I’m as frustrated as you are, I don’t think blowing up the team is the answer.
I’m not sure where the whole “sensitivity and coddling” thing fits in, but if you’ve ever heard John Spencer speak, I’m reasonably sure you’d realize nobody is being coddled.
Nobody on this team is untouchable
If the “regular starters” aren’t going to play hard, then let others play. I would prefer to watch a reservist play hard, rather than watch a “regular starter” go through the motions. Their extremely poor work rate and wimpish effort last night was a disgrace to the game of soccer and everything Timbers.
by yepyou'reright on Jun 26, 2011 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions
You're missing the point
The “others” are worse than what’s out there at the moment. All the work rate in the world won’t change the fact that Ryan Pore is not good enough to warrant 90 consecutive minutes of MLS game time.
Was last night an embarrassment? Yep. It was awful. But it’s not like the Timbers have a deep well of talent from which to draw – you blow up the team now, after less than half a season, and games like last night’s will be the rule, not the exception. You can watch reservists play hard and still see the Timbers lose 4-0, I’ll take my chances with the starters.
I’m not for a minute suggesting the first 11 are untouchable – but I am more willing than you to give them the benefit of the doubt, say that last night was an anomaly, and see what answers they give in next week’s game. If this type of play continues, yes, changes need to be made, but after one game it’s a bit hasty to suggest throwing 11 new guys out there.
by pdb on Jun 26, 2011 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Watching Lopez, Pore, Lowry, Taylor, Thompson or whoever
out there busting their asses would be refreshing for a little while (as long as they were busting their asses), but I think the results would get tiresome very quickly.
I think we have to see how the first team responds to this embarrassment first before we start punting to get guys that may work harder out there. If any of those guys win a spot in training through work and skill, so be it.
However, we need leadership out on the field. We need help in the defense.
Bring in a quality veteran defender. Stat.
volatilelyle.com
by almost awesome on Jun 26, 2011 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Not as tiresome as watching regulars play half-a$%
and get similar results.
Agree that a quality defender is needed immediately. This on Wilkinson for not doing a better job on that in pre-season and before the last transfer window closed. Also, it’s on Spencer who continues to insist on out-of-position Hall at RB.
And yes, leadership. Jack and Perkins need to start getting in some faces. I also want to hear about chippy play at practice. This team needs to get tougher.
by yepyou'reright on Jun 26, 2011 1:06 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not missing your point
I understand that “others” might not be as technically gifted as the so-called Starting XI.
But I don’t think that last night was an exception. When in this recent winless streak have the Timbers really played for 90’? Maybe Colorado, but that’s about it. Other than that, they’ve been flat and uninterested for long stretches of every game or all game long.
Last night was not the anomaly but the predictable outcome for a team playing without intensity and maximum effort for over a month now. They’re soft.
No, not a blow up of the team but I do think some benching is overdue and no starter should take anything for granted.
by yepyou'reright on Jun 26, 2011 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Even if the backups are not as good
Putting them in for their hard work will put a fire under your more skilled starters. I would not suggest doing it for all starters all at once but if there is an exceptional standout of laziness from a star starter, bench him!
(I missed the timbers game this week so I do not know if they are really not trying or just being beat despite good efforts).
Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.
I always have a problem with people accusing athletes of "not trying" but I will say they didn't put forth a good effort for whatever reason
I’m not sure it was laziness, either. I think that they just came out flat, and it got worse from there.
(I’m not saying any of this as an argument, but trying to let you know how it looked – and it was ugly)
I tend to agree
I think saying ‘not trying’ is not the right words. There is usually something else (condition x) but the effect is the same in that it appears they are not giving 100% and the remedy is often the same (put someone else of lesser skill in that does not have ‘condition X’
Scoreboards, not billboards.
Regular season, not pre-season.
I don't want to make excuses because Dallas was playing in the same conditions
but it was oppressively humid down there this weekend (94 degrees, about 70% humidity), and that has to take a toll. So that might have been a factor, but still.
I don't know why Perkins looked so horrible today
but that was the worst I’ve seen him play in a Timbers shirt. He was responsible for at least two, and arguably three, of the goals – not wholly, the defense was crap too, but Perkins didn’t help.
I would love to be able to break this game down and look at it critically, but this one is just a writeoff – it was horrible from back to front, and it was painful to watch.
Add a quality veteran defender.
Time to start banging that drum hard.
volatilelyle.com
by almost awesome on Jun 25, 2011 10:19 PM PDT reply actions
NEW TEAM NAME
Based on the teams “D” Fence..Now the Portland Clear-Cuts since there is nothing left to stop the other teams from scoring.
NOTE: THE HONEYMOON IS OVER!
Nate McMillan...Coach of The Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Missing Letters
Yes just like the Timers Defense it missing.
Nate McMillan...Coach of The Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TROLL.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ????
Where were you April 1975? I saw every home game from 1975 to 1982 . I even drove to the Soccer Bowl and watched in the worst stadium for soccer ever. The only Troll I see here is you….Wear Green bleed Orange ! AJAX Forever!
Nate McMillan...Coach of The Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, troll: capital letters, excessive use of punctuation, inflammatory posts with little to no value. Going to the games during the NASL era and driving to the Soccer Bowl entitles you to nothing. You’re at least 45. Act your age, this isn’t oregonlive.com.
If he drove to a match in 1975 he's at least 54 years old
Which is even sadder, when you stop to think about it.
In Apri 1975 I was six years old
The next year, I saw Pele play in the Kingdome, and I saw dozens of Sounders games in the years after that. What’s your point?
I don’t give a shit about 1975. Or the Soccer Bowl. Or Ajax. I am a Timbers season ticket holder NOW, and I do not appreciate a person with six comments total coming in here to crap on a team that I love to watch.
If you don’t like them, fine. Stay away, and stop commenting. As pecora says, grow up.
so smug
I am sorry I guess I should bring my pom-poms to the next match. A real fan knows a bad performance and when the team is playing well. That you don’t give a Sh*t about tradition shows you have no respect for the game. (Yes I am 58) and if you played youth soccer growing up “Your Welcome” as it was not an easy road to bring soccer to the Portland Metro Area as there were many people who didn’t want it to succeeded. I spent 14 years working to expand soccer and I am proud of not only the “New Timbers” but the youth programs of today. So sit and sing along and drink your beer and hang out with your Gen X friends and pound out on Twitter your innermost thoughts…and change your Facebook status to SAD :-(
Careful not to break your ankles jumping off the band wagon. You remind me of my first soccer ball..plastic on the outside and empty space inside.
Nate McMillan...Coach of The Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, that was impressive
a 58 year old man, arguing like a 12 year old? I tip my hat to you, sir.
by pdb on Jun 28, 2011 6:54 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Merritt Paulson's tweet:
“disgraceful. from top to bottom. you can’t win them all but you cannot tolerate many like that”
That sums it up.
Happy we have an owner who recognizes it.
RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS
by Geoff Gibson on Jun 26, 2011 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Buck Up
Sounders laid a 4-0 egg last year (at home, even), got a fake refund, didn’t start winning until mid July, and still made the playoffs, where anything can happen.
It’s a long season.
Nos Audietis
Encouraging words from a Sounders fan
I find this troubling.
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