Stumptown Footy: FanPosts

Portland Escapes False Vancouver Excitement With A Draw

2013-05-21T15:08:12Z

When the Portland Timbers are just a touch off their game, you can sense it. The passing isn’t as purposeful, or crisp. The play isn’t as poised, and the players aren’t as ready to pounce.

At their best, the Timbers can score on every possession. When they’re a notch below that level, they’re about as good every other team in MLS. And things get interesting.

Saturday afternoon at BC Place in Vancouver, things were just a touch off. The Timbers can and will dominate possession in every game they play, but when they’re not buzzing – an occurrence that is frequent on the road – that possession is slow and listless.

It was Vancouver who brought the game to life on multiple occasions, Camilo and Nigel Reo-Coker especially effervescent. It was a game that always looked like it would have goals, and it ended up having four, but it was also a game that debunked the notion that scoring equals excitement in soccer.

The game was played without any palpable intensity and it lacked gravitas and panache – it certainly didn’t feel like a rivalry game, and when you consider that Vancouver is merely the ugly stepchild of the Portland – Seattle MLS rivalry, that makes sense.

After all, Vancouver has never beaten either of its Cascadia foes in an MLS game. In years one and two, wherever the two teams were in the table, Portland would own the Whitecaps. That almost changed on Saturday, but Vancouver was done-in by a general leakiness at the back as they couldn’t shut the game down with authority. That’s been their MLS nature. And it perfectly set up the Timbers’ new MLS nature.

The evening started with confusion when the two teams walked onto the field in very similarly colored uniforms. There was almost no contrast between the Timbers were red – read, mostly white – away kit with Vancouver’s white home kit.

It was an ominous sign. The Timbers were unbeaten in green at BC Place.

After 24 frivolous minutes, the Brazilian Camilo opened the scoring. After being fouled by Will Johnson on the edge of the penalty area, Camilo bent a superb free-kick past a helpless Donovan Ricketts. It was a fine moment for Camilo, who has had a stop-start three years in Vancouver – at his best, he is an annoying, flitting, skilled menace up top, and he was at his best Saturday night.

The Timbers easily controlled the ball, and were able to create space in attacking areas, but the two chief creators of the Chivas USA throttling last weekend, Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe, were off their game.

Nagbe was knocked out of the game after 34 non-descript minutes, while Valeri’s passing accuracy was lacking, as was his control of the game. Without the Timbers two most talented players pulling the strings, the attack wasn’t as menacing or punchy.

Still, with Vancouver not exactly running a tight ship at the back, it always felt like a Timbers goal was inevitable, and it came in the 62nd minute, when a Will Johnson shot struck the arm of experienced Ireland international Andy O’Brian. Johnson’s penalty was the epitome of silky, a snaking shot whisked easily into the left side netting.

The Timbers were only level for a few fleeting seconds. Gershon Koffie, teed up from 18 yards, hit a stunning curler of a goal to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead. It was the kind of individual skill the Timbers were missing on the day – in fact, both the Whitecaps’ goals came from individual brilliance.

It was the referee who ended up making an individual mistake that seemed to end the game. Nigel Reo-Coker hit a hopeful heave out of the Vancouver half in the 79th minute, which Camilo and Futty both ran under. As the ball fell, Camilo tumbled, and the referee did not hesitate in brandishing a red card for Futty, the last defender.

If it was a foul, Futty deserved to be sent-off. But it wasn’t a foul. Rather, it was a foul – except Futty had been fouled, he hadn’t committed the foul. As the two players ran under the ball, Camilo stepped into Futty’s path, sending both players to the ground. It was an innocuous tangling of legs, it anything a foul on Camilo, who made the challenge.

From his position, almost half a field behind the play, the referee could not possibly have seen the particulars of the sequence. Tellingly, the linesman closest to the play did not raise his flag for foul. The referee assumed Futty brought down Camilo, which was clearly the wrong assumption.

If the MLS Disciplinary Committee reviews the red card, it should be overturned. In the moment, it looked as if the sending off had retired the Timbers’ record MLS winning streak, but Jose Valenica’s re-announcement of his presence to the Timbers was a match-saving one.

Valenica’s eventual equalizer developed much the same way as the play got Futty sent off developed. A high, hopeful ball from a star midfielder – this time Will Johnson instead of Reo-Coker – that a forward bounded over. Valencia controlled the ball, and fortunately had Alan Rochat sprawling the wrong way, as Valencia coolly pulled the ball back, and slotted home his first ever MLS goal.

The finish was a long-time coming for Valencia, who started the year in the playing rotation, but fell to the reserves with a gaping stoppage time miss against Montreal and the arrival of Frederic Piquonne. The chance Valencia took in Vancouver was exactly the kind of chance he wasn’t converting earlier in the year.

With Piquonne’s struggles as of late, Valencia appears to have played his way back into the team. Last season, El Trincito was a designated player, but his career was grounded by a preseason knee injury and an arrest for domestic violence. His salary dropped by tens of thousands of dollars, along with his status as a DP, but this season has been a bounce-back year. May it, along with the Timbers’ points streak, continue.

When the Portland Timbers are just a touch off their game, you can sense it. The passing isn’t as purposeful, or crisp. The play isn’t as poised, and the players aren’t as ready to pounce.

At their best, the Timbers can score on every possession. When they’re a notch below that level, they’re about as good every other team in MLS. And things get interesting.

It was an ominous sign. The Timbers were unbeaten in green at BC Place.

Chant: Ok for the Timbers Army not ok for the Thorns Rose City Riveters

2013-05-21T02:29:23Z

There is a Chant that fits in well with MLS it goes something like this:

“This is what a crowd looks like”

for MLS matches it makes sense due to some teams being rather bad at attendance this season for many reasons but it is NOT ok for the THORNS matches.

Several reasons this is the first season of a brand new league, it comes off as snobbish, flounder-like, flaker-like, cowboyish and above all is in VERY poor taste.

I dont know about others but was are the big club of the league yet with this chant we are no better than the teams that mock portland/oregon teams. Do we really want to copy or mirror them?

Not I! I want us to be a beacon of hope for the league and for us to raise all boats for the survival of the league. Lets show and lead the way for the league and fans.

In Closing STOP THIS EMBARRASSING CHANT!

There is a Chant that fits in well with MLS it goes something like this:

“This is what a crowd looks like”

for MLS matches it makes sense due to some teams being rather bad at attendance this season for many reasons but it is NOT ok for the THORNS matches.

Several reasons this is the first season of a brand new league, it comes off as snobbish, flounder-like, flaker-like, cowboyish and above all is in VERY poor taste.

I dont know about others but was are the big club of the league yet with this chant we are no better than the teams that mock portland/oregon teams. Do we really want to copy or mirror them?

Not I! I want us to be a beacon of hope for the league and for us to raise all boats for the survival of the league. Lets show and lead the way for the league and fans.

In Closing STOP THIS EMBARRASSING CHANT!

NWSL Week 6 Power Rankings

2013-05-20T16:25:33Z

Records are listed W-L-D

1. Sky Blue FC 5-1-1 previously 4

Last week I bumped the Western New York Flash up to #2 because they had earned the most impressive victory in the 2013 NWSL season to date by winning at Kansas City. Well, Sky Blue just out-did their Flashian rivals by going to Portland Thursday night and shutting down the “OMG it's so unfair” Portland attack.

Jersey spent the week in the Pacific Northwest and received six points and a place tied at the top of the table for their efforts. By moving Kelley O'Hara from forward to left back, Sky Blue put their chips on their allocated players being able to stop Portland's allocated players, and it worked brilliantly. Christie Rampone was a force as she led her defense to a clean sheet, and perhaps most impressively, simply made the Thorns look out-matched.

Sky Blue then closed out the weekend with an impressive win at the punchless Reign. They won 3-0 and missed a penalty that could have made it even worse. Next week, SBFC closes out their three game trip with a game at Kansas City which gives them another opportunity for another huge road win.

2. Portland Thorns 5-1-1 previously 1

A tale of two teams. Portland is 5-0-0 against the bottom three of the table, but just 0-1-1 against the rest of the top five. This week, the Thorns finally returned home with their top position and a chance for another six points. They earned three.

On Thursday, Sky Blue visited Portland and produced a defensive effort that frustrated the Thorns and left Portland's vaunted attacking players flailing. The Thorns could not break down Sky Blue either with clever passing or with individual efforts. They tried both. Over and over again.

Portland rebounded Sunday with the type of dominating performance we've come to expect from them, beating Washington 2-0. We have yet to see how the Thorns will look when the June decimations come around, but we do now know that Portland's place as the number one seed in the playoffs is far from guaranteed.

The Thorns will spend this week at their Pacific Northwest rivals, Seattle on Saturday. I fully expect the traveling Riveters to make more noise than the entire Reign home crowd.

3. Western New York Flash 2-2-1 previously 2

The Flash had the week off to bask in the glow of their tremendous performance at FCKC. They host the listless Red Stars Friday in a game I expect the Flash to dominate.

4. FC Kansas City 3-1-1 previously 3

It seems harsh to drop a spot after a convincing win, but Sky Blue's gain pushed KC down a bit despite KC's solid win over Boston. Kansas City still really, really feels like a contender for the #1 seed in the playoffs, but unlike WNY & Jersey, they have yet to post that undeniably convincing win. Should FCKC back up the result over the Breakers with a win Saturday against Sky Blue, it seems likely they'll move up, even without having proven themselves on the road.

Renae Cuellar & Lauren Cheney again led the way for KC like the tip of a preposterously long spear. Their depth could give them the advantage during June.

5. Boston Breakers 2-1-2 previously 5

Boston was frustrated Saturday at Kansas City, falling 2-0. They return home this week to face Washington, which would be a fantastic get well tonic for any of the top teams, except, coincidentally, Boston. This will be the Spirit & Breakers third meeting in the young season, and the two have split the points in each of their first two.

6. Washington Spirit 1-3-3 previously 6

Washington spent the week playing two games in the Pacific Northwest. On Thursday, they put up 4 goals (out of their 9 on the season) in a win in Tukwila, Washington. It was the Spirit's first victory, and made a terrific statement separating themselves from the worst teams in the league.

But Sunday brought the Spirit back to a recurring reality. For the second time this season, Washington played Portland and were patently outclassed, this time dropping a 2-0 decision despite Ali Krieger and Lori Lindsey's best efforts.

Saturday, Washington plays Boston for the third time this season, and hope to get a positive result once again.

7. Chicago Red Stars 0-3-2 previously 7

The Red Stars had the week off and look forward to their two game road trip at Western New York and Portland, which gives them an opportunity to move out of the basement and earn some respect around these parts. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely.

8. Seattle Reign 0-6-1 previously 8

Seattle's week with two games at home gave them a genuine chance to move out of the basement. “Missed opportunities” has so far been the defining theme of Seattle's season, and we watched it happen again. Twice. Lost 4-2. Lost 3-0. In a league where all eight teams were designed to be loaded, Seattle got left out. Their three USWNT allocated players have yet to suit up for the Reign, and without them, Seattle is simply outclassed.

The Reign have both the league's worst goals for (0.57) and the worst goals against (2.14) in addition to only claiming one point in seven games (0.14 ppg).

Perhaps June – the month when all NWSL clubs will be without their allocated players – will prove to be beneficial for the Reign, who will be the only team left whole. Additionally the Seattle FO has their internet streaming going very smoothly, so Thorns fans have that to look forward to for next week's big game.

Records are listed W-L-D

1. Sky Blue FC 5-1-1 previously 4

2. Portland Thorns 5-1-1 previously 1

The Thorns will spend this week at their Pacific Northwest rivals, Seattle on Saturday. I fully expect the traveling Riveters to make more noise than the entire Reign home crowd.

3. Western New York Flash 2-2-1 previously 2

The Flash had the week off to bask in the glow of their tremendous performance at FCKC. They host the listless Red Stars Friday in a game I expect the Flash to dominate.

4. FC Kansas City 3-1-1 previously 3

Renae Cuellar & Lauren Cheney again led the way for KC like the tip of a preposterously long spear. Their depth could give them the advantage during June.

5. Boston Breakers 2-1-2 previously 5

6. Washington Spirit 1-3-3 previously 6

Saturday, Washington plays Boston for the third time this season, and hope to get a positive result once again.

7. Chicago Red Stars 0-3-2 previously 7

8. Seattle Reign 0-6-1 previously 8

The Reign have both the league's worst goals for (0.57) and the worst goals against (2.14) in addition to only claiming one point in seven games (0.14 ppg).

MLS Team Ratings as of May 19, 2013

2013-05-20T07:23:07Z

MLS Ratings as of May 19, 2013

Team	Rank	Games	Won	Tied	Lost	Rating	SE	Opp.mean
Montreal	1	10	6	2	2	1645	130	1505
FC Dallas	2	12	7	3	2	1626	122	1489
Portland	3	12	4	7	1	1611	115	1532
New York	4	14	7	3	4	1573	119	1476
Seattle	5	10	4	3	3	1569	123	1547
Real Salt Lake	6	13	6	2	5	1549	121	1502
Colorado	7	12	4	4	4	1538	118	1514
Sporting KC	8	13	6	3	4	1518	121	1470
LA Galaxy	9	11	5	2	4	1517	124	1492
Houston	10	12	6	2	4	1514	122	1464
New England	11	11	3	4	4	1513	120	1530
Vancouver	12	11	3	4	4	1492	120	1522
San Jose	13	13	3	6	4	1491	114	1533
Philadelphia	14	12	5	3	4	1486	120	1459
Columbus	15	11	4	3	4	1462	122	1446
Chivas USA	16	11	3	2	6	1413	124	1516
Toronto FC	17	11	1	4	6	1379	121	1533
Chicago	18	10	2	1	7	1322	134	1513
D.C. United	19	11	1	2	8	1283	132	1527

Average Home field advantage: 70 Rating Points.

Adult rec league in the Columbia Gorge area?

2013-05-20T00:45:45Z

All i can find is https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hood-River-Soccer-League/593693263974791?fref=ts and https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaGorgeIndoorSoccer?fref=ts I thought Oregon was a soccer state and with Reasonable populated towns like Hood river and the Dalles there would be a more vibrant league. The first link seems to be mostly from the Latino community and seems to only be starting up, maybe more teams will join. The second link is ok but i like the idea of playing outdoors when possible (I understand in the hot summer days or cold winter days indoor would be a great)

Also, Ill be moving to Oregon in two months, looking for timbers fans in the Hood river/ the dalles area who travel to games to carpool and meet up to watch away games with.

John Spencer career update

2013-05-17T17:42:53Z

John Spencer and his family have reportedly moved back to Houston, and he appeared this week on Glenn Davis' radio show Soccer Matters. Most of the discussion revolved around the Manchester United news and the second part of the interview appears unavailable at the moment, but here are some salient quotes.

Glenn Davis: What's going on in John Spencer's career right now, and what do we see happening potentially in the future?

John Spencer: Well, I think it's been well-documented that I left Portland last July, and I was fifteen games into a three-year contract when I left the post or got fired, whatever way you want to describe it, and I've got eighteen months of that contract left. As you well know in professional sports, it's a waiting game. You can't create a position that's not there. So it's basically just waiting, seeing out my contract, seeing what other jobs come up. If I get a nod for any of them, I'm certainly going to speak to clubs if they came up to me.

GD: So managing remains in your future?

JS: Oh of course it does. I think that I proved, over the short time I was in the job at Portland, I could coach against the best in the league. It's like anything, you need to be given time to prove.

Carlos Bacanegra?

2013-05-16T00:34:58Z

A friend of mine brought to my attention the possibility...if a bit of a long shot, of bringing in a US national team player. One some of us may have mixed emotions about but one who I feel would add a great deal of leadership to the back line that we now need with the loss of Silvestre.

1) Apparently USMNT player Carlos Bacanegra's contract with the Rangers is up in July (he is currently on loan to Racing Santander).

2) PTFC has a DP spot open, he wouldn't take up an international spot (obviously).

3)Bacanegra has spoken out about not wanting to play longer with the Rangers (due to their punishment and Relegation).

4) Merritt Paulson has tweeted a hint about a big surprise in July

5) The timbers have his Rights of first refusal thanks to a trade with Toronto in the off season

What do you guys think? this was dropped on me about 12 minutes ago and I thought I would share what I knew and hope you will point out any flaws or find more facts that would support my buddies idea. Let me know in the comments and thanks for your participation. Also I'm at work and should be doing that...not writing so sorry for all errors

1) Apparently USMNT player Carlos Bacanegra's contract with the Rangers is up in July (he is currently on loan to Racing Santander).

2) PTFC has a DP spot open, he wouldn't take up an international spot (obviously).

3)Bacanegra has spoken out about not wanting to play longer with the Rangers (due to their punishment and Relegation).

4) Merritt Paulson has tweeted a hint about a big surprise in July

5) The timbers have his Rights of first refusal thanks to a trade with Toronto in the off season

Artificial Turf Injuries - New Study

2013-05-15T19:04:59Z

As reported by the NYTimes: "[The] experiment was repeated for two more years, during which time the playing fields were switched from grass surfaces to artificial turf. At the end of the three seasons, the scientists compared traction levels and injury reports...Playing surface, meanwhile, had almost no effect on injury risk. Injury rates were similar on grass and artificial turf, whatever shoes the players wore."

It doesn't say no effect, but it sounds minimal at best. I haven't read the primary source (it looks like the full text may not be published yet), but can we stop blaming the turf for injuries? I understand if elite level players have a preference for perfectly manicured natural surfaces. That's fine, I won't argue with that. But the data (it's science, people) just doesn't back up the idea that artificial turf causes more injuries. At least this study doesn't. Can anyone else cite studies that show it does?

MLS Fantasy Week 12 Discussion

2013-05-15T05:12:03Z

via cdn0.sbnation.com

The Rodney Wallace is Good, Get Over it Edition.

And so it was: Rodney Wallace chips a ball over a charging keeper like we all have been begging Darlington Nagbe to do, and then proceeds to make the sexiest assist of the weekend for Diego Valeri to earn an incredible 21 points. I am more than open to claiming that I coined #RWOUT, and I have been very slow to give him credit for just about any of his contributions this season. But, this must end.

Last week, I sucked it up and put him in my fantasy lineup, and it paid great dividends. This week, I've decided to stop wishing he wasn't in the starting XI. Hate leads to the dark side, after all. Have you neglected picking up RodWal for your fantasy lineup? Do it soon before he gets even more expensive.

Injuries and Suspensions

Sporting KC: Both Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell Argerich are out on yellow card accumulations. Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Paulo Nagamura are all listed as iffy with injuries.

Chivas: Carlos Alvarez and Mario de Luna are both out with yellow card accumulations - not for shoving ball boys.

FC Dallas: Both Andrew Jacobson and George John are still question marks for Dallas.

LA Galaxy: While Todd Dunivant and Robbie Keane are both listed as "iffy", word on the street is they are both going to be back in action this week.

Montreal Impact: Both Davy Arnaud and Alessandro Nesta are still listed as out.

NYRB: Petke seems to think that Dax McCarty is likely to be back this week, although he is still listed as injured.

Match Ups

I'm going to discontinue this section - the thought of doing it stresses me out.

Quick Tips

Did you pick up Clint Irwin like I told you? His price keeps going up and he scored 8 points last round.

If Todd Dunivant is coming back this week, he might be a steal at $4.8m.

Both Philadelphia Union and LA Galaxy play two games this week - one of which is vs the other. The clear choice for Union players is a bit easier than the Galaxy, who have been on a suck tear for the past couple of weeks. Dunivant may be a great choice. If you can afford Donovan or Keane, they may be a good pickup as well.

Aurelien Collin will be out this week, but it's not time to cash him in.

Apparently Jack Mack seems to be the thorn in LA's side, and has scored on them on multiple outings. Pretty impressive for a 20 year old to be able to say he has scored on a team on more than one occasion when they only play them once a year...

Mike Magee still averages about 6.2 points a game, though this has been lower in the past couple weeks.. May still be a safer captain choice than Jack Mack.

Investment and Lineup Theory

If you had followed my advice to a T, you may not have scored as highly last week as anticipated. First, many players didn't play the full 90 for both matches and/or flubbed one of their matches. I'm not sure quite how one might account for this statistically, but I was hoping for 130 or so and ended up with 85... very depressing.

via cdn0.sbnation.com

The Rodney Wallace is Good, Get Over it Edition.

Injuries and Suspensions

Sporting KC: Both Aurelien Collin and Oriol Rosell Argerich are out on yellow card accumulations. Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Paulo Nagamura are all listed as iffy with injuries.

Chivas: Carlos Alvarez and Mario de Luna are both out with yellow card accumulations - not for shoving ball boys.

FC Dallas: Both Andrew Jacobson and George John are still question marks for Dallas.

LA Galaxy: While Todd Dunivant and Robbie Keane are both listed as "iffy", word on the street is they are both going to be back in action this week.

Montreal Impact: Both Davy Arnaud and Alessandro Nesta are still listed as out.

NYRB: Petke seems to think that Dax McCarty is likely to be back this week, although he is still listed as injured.

Match Ups

I'm going to discontinue this section - the thought of doing it stresses me out.

Quick Tips

Did you pick up Clint Irwin like I told you? His price keeps going up and he scored 8 points last round.

If Todd Dunivant is coming back this week, he might be a steal at $4.8m.

Aurelien Collin will be out this week, but it's not time to cash him in.

Mike Magee still averages about 6.2 points a game, though this has been lower in the past couple weeks.. May still be a safer captain choice than Jack Mack.

Investment and Lineup Theory

Ticket resale bill in Salem

2013-05-14T15:55:34Z

- Thanks to Todd Fulkerson over at the Timbers Ticket Exchange on Facebook for pointing this out.

There's a bill floating around in Salem that theoretically could have a significant impact on a fan's ability to resell tickets - but it sounds like it probably won't. House Bill 3510 had an initial public hearing yesterday afternoon.

According to the sponsor of the bill, Representative Julie Parrish, the goal of the bill is primarily to try to shut down those ticket resale websites that try to mascaraed as the actual venue websites. I don't know if you've run across these, but basically you click on an advertisement for event tickets and you're taken to a website that looks like the website for the Rose Garden or for McMenamins, but is actually a third party reseller who's selling tickets at massively inflated prices. Some of these guys engage in some pretty sketchy practices, such as selling tickets for events that haven't actually been booked yet. There were a couple examples given of concerts that are only tentatively planned for late this year, that you can go online and buy tickets for right now through these third party agents - but that may not actually happen and that the venues certainly haven't released tickets for.

The problem is that the way the bill is written, it sets up some serious obstacles to ticket sales other than through an authorized ticket reseller. Rep. Parrish is adamant that her intention is not to impact sales between individual fans, and she insists that she's been told the bill doesn't do that. Everyone else seems to disagree and thinks that the bill does in fact prohibit these sales. There were some consumer advocacy groups that testified in opposition for exactly that reason. Interestingly, one of the bigwigs from StubHub /eBay was also testifying against the bill. Presumably the bill wouldn't effect their ability to resell Timbers tickets, since I believe they are an "authorized reseller", but it would effect fans selling concert tickets and such there. There was literally no one who showed up to testify in favor of the bill.

For my part, I believe that Representative Parrish is sincere that she's not trying to ban fan-to-fan sales of tickets. But I also believe that the bill is very poorly written and that it probably does exactly that. My impression watching the hearing was that a number of the members of the House Rules Committee, which was hearing the bill, seemed to "get it" and understood that changes need to be made. So my guess is we'll see some serious amendments if the bill goes anywhere. I'll update this post if and when anything significant happens.

In the mean time, if you're interested in the subject and want more info, or want to weigh in here's a few relevant links:

Sponsors - Rep. Julie Parish - Rep.JulieParrish@state.or.us ; Rep. Jennifer Williamson - Rep.JenniferWilliamson@state.or.us

General bill info, including some written testimony - https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013R1/Measures/Overview/HB3510

If anyone has questions feel free to post them and I'll try to track down the answers.

- Thanks to Todd Fulkerson over at the Timbers Ticket Exchange on Facebook for pointing this out.

In the mean time, if you're interested in the subject and want more info, or want to weigh in here's a few relevant links:

Sponsors - Rep. Julie Parish - Rep.JulieParrish@state.or.us ; Rep. Jennifer Williamson - Rep.JenniferWilliamson@state.or.us

General bill info, including some written testimony - https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2013R1/Measures/Overview/HB3510

If anyone has questions feel free to post them and I'll try to track down the answers.

SB Nation and the MLS

2013-05-14T05:48:10Z

I know that the setup of SB Nation creates a decentralized method of covering MLS by focusing on team's. However on occasion by following the thread, I find myself stumbling on wonderful threads from other blogs. usually FanPosts it would be a great feature to see these active threads find themselves across the league's various blogs rather than the trending posts of other sports. I am not sure where this should end up but considering that there are few MLS focused websites with the manpower that is leveraged by the SB Nation model, this could very well be the place to come when I need to daily wrap up.

Something for the Numbers Nerds: MLS Team Performance Ratings

2013-05-14T00:53:09Z

I used to publish ratings for college soccer teams. As a
Timber's Army regular, I decided it was time to rate MLS teams
using the same system. For those who know the United States
Chess Federation rating system (based on the Elo system), this
is vaguely similar but incorporates home field advantage.

A rating difference of 100 points corresponds (ignoring ties) to an estimated odds of 2:1 for the stronger team, 200 points to 4:1 odds, and 300 points to 8:1 odds. Add the 75 point home field advantage to the rating of the home team before computing the difference. The table includes the estimated ratings, the standard error of the estimates, and the average rating of the opponents to date.

MLS Ratings as of May 13, 2013

Average Home field advantage: 75 Rating Points.

Team	Rank	G	Won	Tied	Lost	Rating	SE	Opp.mean
FC Dallas	1	11	7	3	1	1664	126	1485
Montreal	2	10	6	2	2	1635	130	1497
Portland	3	11	4	6	1	1616	119	1538
Houston	4	11	6	2	3	1561	125	1465
New York	5	13	6	3	4	1543	122	1464
Sporting KC	6	12	6	2	4	1542	124	1485
Colorado	7	11	4	3	4	1540	122	1520
Seattle	8	9	3	3	3	1530	126	1534
LA Galaxy	9	9	4	2	3	1523	129	1504
Real Salt Lake	10	12	5	2	5	1522	123	1506
Vancouver	11	10	3	3	4	1493	124	1524
Philadelphia	12	10	4	3	3	1492	124	1453
San Jose	13	12	3	5	4	1490	117	1528
New England	14	10	2	4	4	1474	123	1529
Chivas USA	15	10	3	2	5	1446	126	1516
Columbus	16	10	3	3	4	1423	125	1446
Toronto FC	17	10	1	4	5	1421	122	1548
Chicago	18	9	2	1	6	1343	136	1515
D.C. United	19	10	1	1	8	1241	143	1527

Silvestre - How the Timbers are Recovering?

2013-05-13T23:45:35Z

When Mikael went down against New England, many worried how the thin Timbers' D would compensate. Two games later, we are starting to see the results:

1. Porter has made some interesting defensive re-alignments. AJB is playing so wide to the right, he could be confused as a right back. Chara then steps back defensively, playing almost as the 4th defender next to Futty, so that the right back can spend more time upfield.

You end up in what often looks like a 3-4-3, with the left back staying more at home and Chara ready to step back to fill the gap between Futty and AJB. The right back has more license to get forward, allowing Nagbe to pinch in and play more centrally. It looks something like this:

2. Distribution was my major concern when we lost Silvestre. Dallas pressed Portland effectively. Both Futty and AJB's passing numbers were down significantly from other games (46 total passes between the two of them, vs. 102 against Chivas USA). Futty maintained his impressive passing accuracy. AJB was far less effective, completing about 50% of his passes against Dallas. So it is pretty clear the young defender still struggles with pressure, and this remains an ongoing concern.

I believe this is why Porter is bringing Chara closer to AJB, to provide AJB a simpler outlet. Chivas was not good enough to tell us if this will work in the long run, but we should know more after this stretch of road games.

Overall, Porter's doing a good job of adjusting his system to recover from the loss. The Timbers have conceded a single goal since Silvestre went down, and that on a nonsensical PK decision.

When Mikael went down against New England, many worried how the thin Timbers' D would compensate. Two games later, we are starting to see the results:

Overall, Porter's doing a good job of adjusting his system to recover from the loss. The Timbers have conceded a single goal since Silvestre went down, and that on a nonsensical PK decision.

NWSL Week Five Power Ratings

2013-05-13T16:39:31Z

Records are W-L-D

1. Portland Thorns 4-0-1 previously 1

The Thorns again went on the road and were the far superior side, defeating Chicago 2-0. It is time to recognize the fine coaching from Cindy Parlow-Cone as every player seems to know their role and everyone looks to exploit the areas on the pitch where Portland has advantages. Rachel Buehler & Kat Williamson are proving to be a stout Center Back pairing, with the Thorns leading the league with just 3 goals conceded through five games. While the Thorns have been dubbed “the Death Star,” if their defense has a design flaw akin to the thermal exhaust vent issues, the Rebellion has yet to exploit it.

The downside for the Thorns is that their four wins have come against the three teams at the bottom of the table who, in addition to going 0-4 against Portland, can't beat anyone else, either. Portland will also suffer more than most teams when international call-ups coincide with league tilts. Tougher times are ahead. Thankfully, the Thorns still await the addition of midfielder Tobin Heath.

2. Western New York Flash 2-2-1 previously 5

The top five teams in the standings have only four combined losses, and all four of those games have involved the Flash. Although they have suffered two of those four losses, they've also inflicted two of them, including the most impressive win in the league thus far, the Flash's 2-1 win over FC Kansas City Saturday.

The Flash showed how well they can play in their first game with both Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd (Lloyd playing limited minutes), handing KC their first loss. It was no fluke. WNY spent the majority of the game on the front foot, threatening the Kansas City defense repeatedly. Wambach scored a brace with two opportunities at the top-center of the area.

The Flash close out their four game homestand Friday against Chicago before hitting the road for four straight.

3. FC Kansas City 2-1-1 previously 2

Kansas City finally showed a weakness in their fourth league game by getting outplayed in Rochester and making the types of mistakes that lead directly to goals. The assumption is that FCKC's deep roster would contend for the league may indeed play out, but to date, Kansas City only has wins in a home and home with lowly Seattle.

They have a real opportunity to assert themselves as a contender in their next three games as they host Boston and Sky Blue before hitting the road against Portland in a June 6 game that should see both sides decimated by call-ups.

4. Sky Blue FC 3-1-1 previously 4

Sky Blue (aka “New Jersey” thank you Shannon Boxx) had a mixed week. Facing two home games against teams at the bottom of the table, they had a disappointing draw against the Red Stars and a convincing win over Seattle. They now stare down a three-games-in-nine-days road trip including Thursday's tilt at league leader Portland and next weekend's game at FC Kansas City. SBFC is only three points behind the Thorns in the standings and have an opportunity to make a major leap in the standings with their two games in the Pacific Northwest this week.

5. Boston Breakers 2-0-2 previously 3

The Breakers lead the league in scoring with 8 goals through 4 games. Heather O'Reilly and Sydney Leroux form an extraordinarily fierce attacking threat for Boston. There is some bewilderment, therefore, that Boston has dropped points in both of their games against the Washington Spirit. Boston has been impressive in both their wins – a 2-1 win at WNY (who were without Abby Wambach & Carli Lloyd) and a 4-1 thrashing of Chicago. Interestingly, the Breakers have conceded exactly one goal in each of their four games. This Saturday, they face one of the league's most difficult tasks, a trip at FC Kansas City, where we could learn if Boston is indeed one of the top teams.

6. Washington Spirit 0-2-3 previously 6

Washington earned a draw with potent Boston for the second time this season, going toe to toe with the Breakers in their 1-1 tie Saturday. The Spirit now go on the road for five of their next six in a stretch of games that could leave them out of playoff contention if they don't start asserting themselves. (Top four make the playoffs.)

7. Chicago Red Stars 0-2-2 previously 8

Chicago was outclassed pretty thoroughly Sunday against Portland in their 2-0 loss, but they do benefit from their midweek tilt at Sky Blue, where Chicago showed some life by drawing 1-1 in a game they probably deserved to win. Rutgers is not an easy place to play, yet the plucky underdogs made a solid showing.

The Red Stars go on the road for their next two games at the two teams at the top of these ratings. It won't be until July 20 that Chicago has a home game against one of the two teams with whom they share the winless distinction.

8. Seattle Reign 0-4-1 previously 7

Seattle got thrashed on the road again this weekend, this time 2-0 at the hands of New Jersey (thanks again, Shannon Boxx.) They have now gone three straight games without finding the net. With much relief, they now stay at home for four games, starting Thursday when they host Washington. Seattle needs a win in that one, as their homestand gets tougher thereafter as Sky Blue, Portland, & Kansas City visit. The Reign are still hoping to tread water before they receive reinforcements from their two international stars Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe. The Reign may be finished by the time those two arrive.

Notes:

With 19 of the 88 league games in the books, 21.6% of the season has been played. The quarter-season mark will be hit Saturday.
It appears that either neighboring cubicles at US Soccer don't communicate well, or that they created the league but didn't expect anyone to care about it. Here's the Thorns, Canada WNT & USWNT schedules for the first few weeks of June:
- - - June 1 Thorns host Chicago
    - June 2 Canada vs. USA (Toronto)
    - June 6 Thorns host Kansas City
    - June 15 USA vs. South Korea (Boston)
    - June 16 Thorns host Seattle
    - June 19 Germany vs. Canada (Germany)
    - June 20 USA vs. South Korea (New York)
    - June 22 Thorns visit Sky Blue

Records are W-L-D

1. Portland Thorns 4-0-1 previously 1

2. Western New York Flash 2-2-1 previously 5

The Flash close out their four game homestand Friday against Chicago before hitting the road for four straight.

3. FC Kansas City 2-1-1 previously 2

4. Sky Blue FC 3-1-1 previously 4

5. Boston Breakers 2-0-2 previously 3

6. Washington Spirit 0-2-3 previously 6

7. Chicago Red Stars 0-2-2 previously 8

8. Seattle Reign 0-4-1 previously 7

Notes:

With 19 of the 88 league games in the books, 21.6% of the season has been played. The quarter-season mark will be hit Saturday.
It appears that either neighboring cubicles at US Soccer don't communicate well, or that they created the league but didn't expect anyone to care about it. Here's the Thorns, Canada WNT & USWNT schedules for the first few weeks of June:
- - - June 1 Thorns host Chicago
    - June 2 Canada vs. USA (Toronto)
    - June 6 Thorns host Kansas City
    - June 15 USA vs. South Korea (Boston)
    - June 16 Thorns host Seattle
    - June 19 Germany vs. Canada (Germany)
    - June 20 USA vs. South Korea (New York)
    - June 22 Thorns visit Sky Blue

Timbers Stroll In Chivas Demolition

2013-05-13T16:02:32Z

It was oh-so-easy for the Portland Timbers Saturday against Chivas USA. The Timbers strolled in the park for 90 easy minutes, and no one needed to put up a fight, except a brave ball-boy against a petulant and ill-tempered Mario de Luna. It was an effervescent victory delivered with panache and without a drop of sweat.

At times it looked like Manchester United was playing Reading. The gulf in class between the Timbers and Chivas USA couldn’t have been summed up by the team’s respective places in the Western Conference standings, or the fact that the most experienced of Chivas’ back-three was former Timbers fringe player Steve Purdy. It was one of the most lopsided games in that you will ever see in Major League Soccer.

That had a lot to do with the coaching. Chivas’ eccentric coach “El Chelis” Jose Luis Sanchez Sola operates his team like a five year old in a toy store, getting distracted by new players and formations and styles of play every other minute. It’s amusing to watch as an outsider, but for Chivas’ unfortunate players, El Chelis devotion to basing a coaching style off whims must be impossible to navigate game-to-game.

Despite not being fancied to make any impact in MLS, Chivas had a winning start to the year by playing attacking, free-flowing soccer. But by the time they came to Portland, El Chelis had his team in an odd, caved-in defensive formation, with man-markers for Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe – an unusual tactic that disrupts shape and spacing. By the time they left Portland, Chivas had shipped nine goals in their last three games and been outscored 7-0 in their last two outings.

This is in stark contrast to Caleb Porter, who must be a front-runner for MLS coach of the year. Porter’s gives his team clarity and direction – he has a set starting 11, a set style of play, and a steady attitude.

This was a big game for Portland, sandwiched in-between four road games. Portland hadn’t won in their previous two outings, frustrating draws against New England and Dallas. Beating the reeling Goats was a must, and with that in mind, Porter rested Ryan Johnson and Rodney Wallace for the game in Dallas, despite that being a game against the first-place team in the conference and the only team ahead of the Timbers in the West.

Porter’s grasp of the set-up of the schedule made Portland look the fresher team on Sunday, despite the Timbers having played in midweek while their opposition hadn’t played since the previous weekend. That wasn’t the only helpful prong of Porter’s squad management – Wallace looked absolutely buoyant after his off-day in Frisco.

Perhaps no player is benefiting as much from Porter’s reign as Wallace, who was an oft-derided figure in his first two seasons in Portland for his failings at right-back. Porter has filled Wallace with confidence – the Costa Rican has finally held a place in the 11, and at a position, on the wing, where he can really shine.

Wallace is a player that must have confidence to be successful, and so it’s no wonder that his best games for Portland in 2011 were at the start of the season when he was a starter, and he trailed off as the Timbers’ traded his best friend Jeremy Hall, and he got benched.

In 2012, Wallace was inconsistently used, and when Spencer made his comment about “square pegs in round holes”, he could have looked at his own use of Wallace, who never fit as a fullback, rather than a winger.

Porter has put Wallace in a position to be successful, and coached him up – Porter pays more attention to Wallace than any other player on the field during matches. Wallace offers the Timbers’ attack a different dimension – while he doesn’t have the tic-tac skill of Porter’s central midfield, Wallace’s strong, darting runs into the box and directness on the ball have made the Timbers more multi-dimensional and dangerous.

Wallace is clearly playing with an abundance of verve. His goal came off a perfect run matched with a perfect feed from the also well-rested Ryan Johnson, and he capped it off with a guileful finish that only in-form players put away. Wallace also tacked on an assist on Diego Valeri’s goal.

Valeri is another player who was at his best Sunday. Frustrated after going weeks without hitting his peak, Valeri made a statement of intent against Chivas. His smooth vision on the ball – combined with a cold-blooded lust for a goal put Chivas’ obviously overmatched back-three in knots all day, while Will Johnson’s strike to finish the game with gusto gave the Timbers the 3-0 victory they deserved.

It really was too easy for the Timbers. El Chelis’ decision to only play three at the back was unintentional suicide. Chivas’ back three were overrun by the Timbers attacking six, and there were gaping holes in the Goats’ backline that couldn’t be closed.

Chivas also made the mistake of man-marking Valeri and Nagbe, which for one thing, did nothing to stop the players they were paying so much attention to. Valeri played his best game since New York on opening day. It also let the Timbers take complete control of the midfield, which means taking complete control of the ball, because there was not enough Chivas players in the middle of the park to stop the Timbers.

It was, deservedly, the Timbers largest margin of victory in an MLS game. Three goals, and it’s possible the final score-line didn’t fully reflect the home side’s dominance. For as well as the Timbers have played this year, they have far more draws than wins, and it was nice to be able to get a victory before the team embarks on a three-game road-swing that will take them into the summer.

The Mothers’ Day win brought back memories of the feel-good stretch in 2011 when the Timbers couldn’t be beat in Portland after the opening of Jeld-Wen Field. Except then, we were all wondering when it was going to get worse, when the flash in the pan would go dark.

This year, it could just get better from here. In his post-match comments, Porter said this team is only scratching the surface of what it could be. I believe him. After the Chivas demolition, it’s hard to imagine anyone who doesn’t believe.