Recap: Columbus away and another deflating road loss

Just really hard to take.

The Portland Timbers probably play their most complete road game of the year and score the only goal of the game. Yet they still lose 1-0 away on an Own goal.

Great summary. At least if we play like today at home against Toront we can hopefully pick up some points. That really is a must win. SKC embarrassed them today.

Thanks for the recap. I haven’t really been for trading Cooper, and have been trying to focus on his potential for a while now, but that faceplant while Zizzo was singlehandedly carving up Columbus’ defense puts him on the thinnest of ice. He needs to start producing. I know he isn’t in an ideal formation, but he is supposedly a star, and right now he is providing nothing. I could understand less production, but he looks to be barely trying. Very frustrating. I don’t like judging a player’s work ethic, especially in Soccer where much of what they do is away from the ball and frequently off camera, but Cooper needs to put in a more visible effort. Or score. Hell, even winning a free kick would be a start. He also gave away the ball that nearly led to a goal if I remember right. Bad game.

On a more positive note, I totally agree with your assessment of the defense. Real progress. Nice to see.

Cooper also missed at least two runs where he could have helped Chara in the attack.

Am I the only one that thinks Zizzo should be starting?

Am I the only one that thinks Marcelin just isn’t good enough? He had a terrible match tonight IMO.

Last night was a perfect example of what it means to be an expansion team. The team is so thin that substituting does more harm than good. When Columbus subbed, it allowed them to change their style of play and really make a difference. Portland’s subbing only made the team worse. Zizzo is good but exchanging him for Chara doesn’t make the team better. Using that formation, he would have been a better sub for Perlazza. Lowry? They just don’t have an impact sub until Dike is ready to go.

Sorry but another pathetic performance from Cooper. He wanders and wanders and ends up clogging the midfield play. Until his entry, the midfield had been clicking pretty well. Perhaps this was a trade showcase but it did no good for his value. He needs to be benched.

For only being on the team for two days I though Palmer played well. He’ll only get better and it’s the best that part of the defense has looked in a while.

Except the manager. Cooper again was irrelevant, except when he was screwing up. But who put him out there at 46’ for Perlaza and as the lone striker? When Nagbe and Chara came off that was all she wrote offensively, save Zizzo’s occasional burst of speed up the wing but the one forward with the speed to get in the box and cause some trouble was benched at half-time for a strange reason. Again, was Perlaza hurt or something?

Spencer might be a good “coach”, e.g. drill instructor, motivator, and guy the players generally like. But he is learning on the job when it comes to game management. Yesterday he had a stinker. Someday he might be a great manager, but if the Timbers are going to get better he will also have to get better.

Listening to some other broadcasts from around the league remind me how lucky I am. I am 99 percent sure the announcer of the Colorado game asked for confirmation that a Red Card meant the player was sent off. And the guy from Chivas made Justin Braun’s hat trick embarrassing.

After the second goal: “Go Go Chivas USA. One is good two is better” And after the hat trick he actually let out a “you go girl Justin Braun”

I felt bad for the guy. Not meant to be a real criticism, all announcers have bad games, but Strong is one of the better ones.

Really seems to me that Zizzo and Nagbe both need to be on the field, but Spencer seems allergic to having them both in at once.

I think Chara is a very solid box to box MF who has vision and has shown an ability to put in great passes along the grass to a running Perlaza. I like the 4-5-1 and if Chabala can beat out Marcelin for a spot that is great. This formation can turn into a 4-3-3 more often at home when we attack as Nagbe and Alhassan (I would like to see Zizzo start one game in place of Alhassan) move farther forward.

Our team is playing better on the D side and I think on the offensive side the past two games we have had few chances but that is how you play on the road in MLS if you are an average (or below average) team like Portland is right now. You play tight for draws and try to take chances.

As to the longer term I think we have some solid young building blocks (Perkkins, Brunner, Horst, Chara, Alhassan, Nagbe, Zizzo, Perlaza) and our depth has gotten better with the Houston trade. I think we have a shot at a 8-10 spot this year and should make the playoffs next year. Not bad for a first year club I think.