If You Were General Manager of the Portland Timbers

Welcome to the second part in our miniseries "If You Were <Blank>" wherein we ask for your input if you were in control of various aspects of the Portland Timbers Front Office. Today we're doing the General Manager position.

Gavin Wilkinson is not exactly a name that inspires a lot of good will among Timbers fans these days. Despite that, it would be completely incorrect to say that he has an easy job. Figuring out which players can actually make a difference on a team is probably one of the most challenging aspects of putting together a soccer team. In fact, this is one reason why Wilkinson has earned the ire of so many fans.

So here's the scenario:

You are Gavin Wilkinson. Well, not really, but you get the idea. It's your job to scout players both abroad and within the league, figure out who is worth the risk, and even figure out the coaching situation if you're not entirely confident in the Caleb Porter option. Don't forget about drafting from the MLS SuperDraft as well. Try to work within the confines of the salary cap, unless you're willing to spend DP money.

The flip side of this is that there are no formation options, you can't control that. Everything is done from a bird's eye view meaning that all player and staff movements would have to be under the hope that it will be put together effectively by the whatever staff is in place.

What do you do?