Opening Home Weekend: Sights & Sounds

Just a couple of pictures and video from the Chicago and Dallas games.

What an amazing weekend for the whole City.

Season Tickets Running Out!!!

I just got off the phone with a Timbers ticket rep. After ordering my season ticket (TA Sectuon), I asked the rep how many season tickets remained.

"Maybe a few hundred."

WOW - Wait to go, Oregon! That's almost 12,000 tickets sold before the first ball is even kicked.

MLS Draft Preview

Draft day is FINALLY upon us!!!

The Timbers have the 2nd pick in the 1st round. There are several quality players available, particularly:
1) Darlington Nagbe
2) Perry Kitchen
3) Zarek Valentin
4) Kofi Sarkodie
5) Will Bruin
6) Corey Hertzog
7) Omar Salgado

The Timbers have filled out a healthy portion of our roster already. Based upon the statements of Gavin & Spencer, as well as their Expansion draft wheeling-and-dealing, the overall strategy seems to be cheap American defenders with speed on the flanks, a mix of veterans and young prospects in midfield, a couple of unproven young forwards to be supplemented with International-quality players acquired through signings or the allocation process. C'mon, Kenny (Franken) Cooper!!!

How do I see the draft playing out? I can see the Timbers picking a young quality American defender with their #2 pick. A defender will be able to contribute immediately and it fits with Gavin & Spencer's cheap American at the back / international attackers strategy. I also predict the Timbers will use their other picks on risky gambits- it would fit with their track record so far (McCarty trade; Findley; Bornstein).

So, without further ado, the Timbers #2 pick will be:

PERRY KITCHEN, Akron Def/Mid

(Alternatively, we take Zarek Valentin or trade down and pick up a cheap defensive prospect like AJ Soares or Adibaba- hey, I get a second guess, right? Nobody's perfect!)

Timbers Player of the Year

The guy is quality- he can score with his head, left and right foot. It's amazing to watch his growth over the past two seasons. In the future, I'd want Timbers youth prospects to spend a season or two in NASL or USL-PRO Division II or III soccer to gain the experience and confidence necessary to succeed in MLS. Nimo is another player to make progress over the course of this season. But let's take a few minutes to appreciate our Timbers Player of the Year- Ryan Pore.

Pore some sugar on me!
in the Timbers Green!

Season Tickets are in!!!

Season Tickets are in. I'm so, so ready for Opening Night kickoff!!!

Package includes:
-Season tickets
-All Day bus passes for game days
-Discount card for food & drinks
-1 voucher for a friend

Best part is the all-day bus passes. That save some serious cash over the course of a season. Of course, the food & beverage discount is great- so long as it covers beer ($8? Really?!?).

Portland Timbers, Here we go!
Portland Timbers, Here-We-Go!

Gavin Wilkinson the new GM

The Timbers announced that Gavin Wilkinson will be retained by the Timbers as the new Technical Director, which essentially includes all aspects of the playing field (and none of the business, sponsorship, etc.) He will be in charge of scouting, player contracts, the youth team, etc.

This is an excellent promotion for a dedicated servant to the club. Congratulations, Gav.

I will be especially interested to hear his thoughts on the youth model the Timbers will pursue. I'm happy the Timbers have a U-23 team, with Brian Visser the first graduate. What about Collen Warner? Did the Timbers attempt to offer him a contract? Because he just got drafted by Real Salt Lake in MLS, and soccerbyives.net is talking him up as a projected rookie standout.

But there are several different models for youth programs in MLS. Chicago has satellite teams and a Chicago Fire Academy, with plans for a residential program. Colorado, on the other hand, partnered with Colorado youth teams which will contribute members to the Rapids Academy, while being retained by their clubs. The Rapids offer coaching assistance. And I'm guessing the youth teams contribute to some ticket sales. The Red Bulls have an excellent scouting program, and one of the top youth teams in the country, while contributing several young pros, like Jozy Altidore, Dilly Duka, Matt Kassel (at Maryland), and the Red Bulls first youth signing, whose name escapes me but it sounds like Giorgios.

Gavin's personnel decisions improved dramatically last year. Ryan Pore, David Hayes, and Mo Keita were all great pickups. But the year before that? Let's not talk about that...

Good luck, Gav! You've got my support- for at least 3 years.

John Spencer a candidate for Timbers Coach

The buzz seems to be that John Spencer, former Colorado Rapids hitman and current Houston Dynamo assistant coach, is in the running to become the Head Coach of the Portland Timbers beginning 2011.

The basis of the rumor is that Spencer turned down the opportunity to interview for the DC United coaching position because he wanted to keep his family in Houston.

I'm not sure how credible the information is, but it comes via Bernardo Fallas- a solid MLS reporter in the Houston area.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/soc/6777409.html

I personally like and respect Spencer from his days at Colorado. And he seems to be an integral part of a solid team and organization in Houston. The Dynamo are a tight, cohesive unit, whom, every time they step on the field, it seems like they expect to win. I'd like that sort of mentality to be adopted here in the Pacific Northwest. And, being Spencer's first head coaching position, I'm certain he'd relish the challenge, even if there would be rookie mistakes along the way.

Northwest Derby

In an hour and a half, I board the bus to PGE Park to see the Boys take on Disney FC from our neighbors to the North.

I have looked forward to this game for a long time. The fact that we only get to play Seattle once a season (assuming US Open Cup qualification) makes this game even more important.

It's close to a sellout attendance-wise.

I really, really want this win.

I may be a bit different than other Timbers fans. I want to beat Seattle more than any other team in North America- hell, the world. Nothing is so satisfying.

But when Seattle plays anyone in MLS, I have a Pacific Northwest pride that hopes Seattle comes out on top. It helps not being in the same division as the Flounders. But I want people in the rest of the country to know that the Pacific Northwest is the place to be for soccer. (And beer.)

So I will cheer and sing tonight from the top of my lungs, and after beating them, I'll wish them well with the MLS season.

1 hour, 20 minutes and counting...

Mid-term Grades

I've been out of town until recently, and have only been able to watch games on USLLive.com (which is FREE and is essential to fans of American soccer).

So here are my Midterm grades:

Forwards: B
-Scoring some goals, and Keita is developing. But I'm not quite confident that this is a first-class strike force.

Midfield: A
-GREATLY improved over last year. Now there's pace aplently from Farber, a hometown kid in Nimo, and pace & skill from Pore.

Defense: A
-Solid as a rock. Scot with 1 T is still my favorite player. But the defense has something to contribute this year, in addition to shutouts, and it's the crossing and set-pieces of David Hayes. But Gavin, give the fella a rest once in awhile!

Goalkeeping: B+
-It's nice to finally have a permanent goalkeeper after last year's rent-a-goalie fiasco. Cronin has all the physical tools, and is developing confidence and familiarity with the backline. I just hope he stays healthy, because Visser has potential- but is not a starting USL-1 goalkeeper at this point. (A nice pickup would be Wilmington's GK who looked impressive in US Open Cup wins against Carolina and Chicago).

The Boss: A-
-Great improvement on personnel, especially speed in the midfield (which is a necessity in this division), and the team truly has a winning mentality.

It's been a great start to the season. And I'm happy being back in the Rose City. I caught my first game of the season against Montreal and it was fantastic. The team was confident; the team played like goals were inevitable. And it was nice to be back in the Army atmosphere, rather than staring at a computer screen in the dead of night.

I want the First Division Trophy!

Who's House? Wicks' House

The Portland Timbers announced today that goalkeeper Josh Wicks will return for the 2008 season – his second with the club. After a breakout performance with the Timbers last season, Wicks was named the 2007 USL First Division Goalkeeper of the Year.

I was impressed with Wicks this past year, despite missing the admirable Josh Saunders between the pipes. Wicks won the "goalkeeper of the year" award, which is a good sign that he is at least an above-average USL keeper. However, I always had the sneaking suspicion that the defense in front of Wicks was such a significant contributor that Wicks' statistics flattered him in the end.

Well, we've got another year to look him over and I'm happy that another cornerstone of last year's team is back in place. One thing the Timbers have missed over the years is continuity in the roster. I firmly believe in new blood to stoke the competitive fires for roster spots, but it will certainly be nice to know the general layout of the team before April begins.

I can't wait for the never-ending offseason to end.

Local Ownership and USL

This is a thoughtful article about local ownership, pride, patience, and the USL.
http://www.csweekly.com/weeklyColumns/article/id/126

BY THOMAS DUNMORE world's game
Here come the Austin Aztex. No, it’s not a Northern rebirth of the nation still ticked at Cortes. It was announced this week that Texas’ new soccer team will play in the First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, one rung below Major League Soccer on the American soccer ladder. Unlike in baseball, no minor league soccer teams are affiliated to major league teams, thus offering an organic opportunity for the game to put down roots in the huge swathes of the country still untouched by MLS.
Many USL teams can hang with their MLS brethren on the field—only last season in the U.S. Open Cup, USL’s Seattle Sounders crushed MLS’ Colorado Rapids 5-0 on their way to the semi-finals, a stage also reached by their league rivals the Carolina RailHawks, who beat the Chicago Fire at home. The USL First Division, with locations as diverse as Minnesota and Puerto Rico amongst its 13 teams in 2007, sees average attendances ranging from five figures in Montreal to three figures in Miami. USL teams do best when they develop local support over time. The Portland Timbers are well-known in American soccer for their loyal, passionate supporters who can stand proud with any in MLS.
The Aztex have been launched by an Englishman, Phil Rawlins, who is also an owner and director of Stoke City of England’s Championship, one tier below the Premier League. The Aztex will be officially affiliated to Stoke, so the English club will hold training camps, scout for talent and exchange players with their American cousin.
Austin’s affiliation to Stoke is part of a deliberate strategy by USL founder and president Francisco Marcos to further internationalize the league. Marcos, fluent in five languages and with four decades of experience in international soccer, splits his time between homes in the U.S. and his native Portugal. He sees this latest foreign connection as a key moment in his plan.
“I firmly believe that Phil Rawlins understands, and is fully committed to, the concept of international relationships as the way to speed up American player development and to further the creation of thriving soccer culture in the US. Following in the footsteps of Crystal Palace Baltimore, who began play last season, and of our recently announced partnership with West Ham United, this is a significant moment in the history and growth of the USL First Division.”
The question is whether such internationalization is the best way to build soccer as an embedded culture in the U.S. On the one hand, international expertise could help improve player development practices, and American soccer can hardly be sniffy about people who want to invest in soccer here. On the other, it’s hard to imagine American supporters becoming deeply attached to the likes of Crystal Palace Baltimore, a franchise run for the benefit of a parent club abroad.
Locally rooted USL teams can develop strong support and identity, as we’ve seen with the Portland Timbers. But foreign owned USL teams, as appendages to a higher priority team, seem unlikely to set down roots for long.
One example of this took place in San Francisco last year. The California Victory were an expansion team in the USL First Division under the ownership of Dmitry Piterman, chairman of Spanish club Deportivo Alaves. The Victory developed a small but fervent fanbase centered on a group called the “1906 Supporters” –smartly linking themselves to the city’s history—who created a vibrant atmosphere.
But by mid-July, it had become clear the Victory were being abandoned by their foreign owner, with players wages left unpaid. It was left to the 1906 group, lead by Mike Alonso, to keep the club alive. Indeed, they showed the power of local soccer passion with their own outreach and promotional efforts, as Alonso recently told me:
“People kept coming. Eventually, we went from 500 people a game to over 1900. No money. No corporate support. No Dmitry. The last game was our biggest attendance ever. Sure we lost, but it was magical. Our flares were lit, our songs were sung, our banners hung low and our flags flown high and our smoke hovered over the crowd. After being wrongfully ejected, striker Chuck Kim ran to the supporters’ section, threw his jersey to a fan, and dove into the arms of his loving fans.”
Despite the supporters’ passion, the Victory were left high and dry by their foreign owner, and they’ll be on hiatus from the USL in 2008.
The USL must be careful not to alienate this valuable grassroots passion for soccer. Despite the forced way they’ve stuck “tex” into the team’s name, it’s good news for the Aztex that their English owner Phil Rawlins now lives in the area. He asserted that “My goal is to make the Aztex a community-based club that the Austin area can be proud of.”
Let’s hope so.

Timbers re-sign 2 more

The Portland Timbers today announced the club has re-signed midfielders Shaun Higgins and Troy Ready for the 2008 season. Both Higgins and Ready return to Portland for a third season with the Timbers.

This makes about 13-14 players under contract again for this year, adding the necessary stability to make a run at the league championship and hopefully a strong cup run.

Timbers News

Willamette Weekly article on the Timbers upcoming season that mentions a new "official" supports club of the Timbers, which is affiliated with the club's management including a code of conduct, appropriate songs, etc. The article also mentions the security officials will "crack down" on foul language and inappropriate gestures. Let's see how that turns out. I don't know many businesses who actively work against their core, loyal customers.

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3323/8840/

Also an article in the Oregonian profiling David Hague, a new addition to the team.

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1176863122187920.xml&coll=7


The Timbers weblog (link on the side) has been doing some solid profiles of the GK, Defenders, Midfielders, and soon the Forwards.


See you all at the game this weekend: 7 pm PGE Park. Be there wearing green. Lots of places to get drinks before the game. See you all there.