Ryan wrote yesterday about the formation likely to be the most common in 2012, based on John
Spencer's almost exclusive use of the 4-4-2 in 2011. It's true, Spencer likes the direct approach
to the attack, a strategy that uses lots of speed and doesn't require much in the way of
possession.
But part of me wonders if Spencer felt limited in choosing his formation because of a lack of
depth on the bench.
The Portland Timbers returned to another closed practice today away from the prying eyes of the
media after resting on Wednesday. Sebastian Rincon, known from Tuesday's practice report as the
mystery player, continued his trial with the team, while Brent Richards was once again missing from
practice.
So it's been quite a while since anybody here at Stumptown Footy convened at Jeld-Wen Field for
a training session. It was good to get back out there and, more importantly, it was good to get
back out into the stadium. Forgot how much I missed that place!
Anyway, today's Quotes and Notes edition might be a tad shorter than usual.
First I just want to wish everybody a happy New Year and I hope everybody got home safe last
night. If you're reading this now then I'm also happy you're not suffering from a severe hang over.
Seriously, kudos! I managed to escape one myself!
In any case, with 2011 now officially over I thought it might be a good time to relive some of
the year's more interesting moments.
The Dynamo have acquired an unknown 24-year old defensive midfielder from an unknown team for a
conditional draft pick.
No seriously.
The details came from Jesus Ortiz on Twitter, but that's all we know right now. The player has
apparently not been informed of the trade so that's delaying the press release.
This post by TSG staff
MLS continued it's full court marketing press by issuing it's unprotected list just a day after
the MLS Cup final.
2012's Jack Jewsbury...
Some fascinating players on the take (for the take?). Here's a feasible team based upon a
balance of "Don't get blown out" and "Priming for growth.
The votes are in and this is what we came up with:
- Kalif Alhassan
- Eric Alexander
- Eric Brunner
- Futty Danso
- Diego Chara
- Sal Zizzo
- Jake Gleeson
- Jorge Perlaza
- Kenny Cooper
- Jack Jewsbury
- Troy Perkins
More after the jump
Here are the actual numbers:
Player Yes No Rank On the list Eric Alexander 13 3 2 Yes Kalif Alhassan 22 4 1 Yes Freddie Braun 0
10 20 No Adin Brown 0 11 20 No Chris Taylor 2 8 14 No Kevin Goldthwaite 0 10 20 No Spencer Thomspon
0 10 20 No Brian Umony 0 7 20 No Rodrigo Lopez 0 7 20 No Peter Lowry 0 7 20 No Ryan Pore 0 9 20 No
Eddie Johnson 1 8 18 No Steve Purdy 1 8 18 No Eric Brunner 7 0 6 Yes Futty Danso 7 0 6 Yes David
Horst 2 5 14 No Mike Chabala 3 4 13 No Rodney Wallace 2 5 14 No Lovel Palmer 2 5 14 No Diego Chara
8 0 3 Yes Jack Jewsbury 5 3 10 Yes Sal Zizzo 5 3 10 Yes Jorge Perlaza 8 0 3 Yes Kenny Cooper 6 2 9
Yes Bright Dike 5 3 10 No Troy Perkins 8 0 3 Yes Jake Gleeson 7 1 6 Yes Editors Picks
Here are the rest of the editors picks
Player Will's List To Protect Ryan's List To Protect Andy's List To Protect William's List To
Protect Troy Perkins Yes Yes Yes Yes Kevin Goldthwaite No No No No Mike Chabala No Yes No No Eric
Brunner Yes Yes Yes Yes Darlington Nagbe Auto Auto auto Auto Sal Zizzo No Yes No No Peter Lowry No
No No no Bright Dike No No No no Eddie Johnson No No No no Kalif Alhassan Yes No Yes Yes David
Horst Yes Yes Yes Yes Jack Jewsbury Yes Yes Yes Yes James Marcelin Yes No Yes no Jorge Perlaza No
Yes Yes Yes Eric Alexander Yes No No no Rodrigo Lopez No No No no Jake Gleeson Yes Yes Yes Yes
Diego Chara Yes Yes Yes Yes Rodney Wallace No No No no Ryan Pore No No No no Adin Brown No No No no
Steve Purdy No No No no Brian Umony No No No no Chris Taylor No No No no Freddie Braun No No No no
Lovel Palmer no No No no Spencer Thompson No No No no Kenny Cooper Yes Yes Yes Yes Futty Danso Yes
Yes Yes Yes
Road To The Playoffs: Two Games To Go
The Portland Timbers have two games left and, despite a brutal loss to Houston on Friday, are
still within striking distance of the playoffs.
The New York Red Bulls, Portland Timbers, Chicago Fire, and DC United are all in competition for
the final wild card playoff spot.
After a rough home defeat to the Houston Dynamo on Friday, the Portland Timbers trained today
for the last time in Portland before the end of the season. Despite the overcast weather the mood
in practice was light and optimistic as the Timbers kept it light as they recovered and prepared to
travel to the District of Columbia for Wednesday's match.
Houston Dynamo (11-9-13) vs. Portland Timbers (11-14-7)
October 14, 2011 -- JELD-WEN Field, Portland OR
Attendance: 20,323
Scoring Summary:
HOU -- Andre Hainault 1 (Brad Davis 15) 36
HOU -- Danny Cruz 2 (Luiz Camargo 2) 59
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe,
Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo (Je-Vaughn Watson 77), Brad Davis (Colin Clark 74), Calen
Carr (Will Bruin 81), Carlo Costly.
So we reported on this briefly when first announced, but I thought it was worth revisiting as
it's probably one of the coolest things an MLS player has ever done with regards to their
respective teams' city. I mean, no matter what happens to Sal Zizzo at this point he's pretty much
setting himself up to be a Portlander for life.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Having burned out our frontal lobes (and our lines of credit) in New York, London, Milan and
Paris recently, we gulped when another video entitled 'Fashion Week' landed on our mousemats. Our
nerves were no less frayed when we realised that said video was prefixed with the word
'Portland'.
Looks like we've got another long break ahead of us. The Next time the Timbers play will be next
Friday. Unfortunately, this also gives teams like the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United and, as we
saw last night, the New York Red Bulls a chance to pull ahead in the standings.
So what are the Timbers doing during this break?
Quick Recap:
The Portland Timbers played a great tactical game and got the early goal from a brilliant strike
from Kenny Cooper. The Vancouver Whitecaps tried to make a game of it but looks like they decided
they might as well go for the Wooden Spoon. Portland wins 1-0.
First Half:
Portland really came out looking good despite missing their captain and one of their dynamic
play makers.
Much has been made about the Vancouver Whitecaps relishing the opportunity to spoil the Portland
Timbers' playoff chances. The Whitecaps' grand entrance into BC Place has also garnered some
attention, as if their newly renovated giant sea anemone next to False Creek will solve the myriad
problems that persist throughout their organization.
Usually I wait a day to digest the game and rewatch it but after today's game I really don't
think I have to because all but three of the players will get the same score. So I am going to
break it down into Three groups.
Group 1 - The good - 7
Troy Perkins- Without him it would have been 4-0 or worse.
John Spencer spent Monday morning watching the video of Friday's match (no doubt he was enjoying
quite a bit of it), so he did not attend practice yesterday. The rest of the coaching staff was on
hand, however, as the team played a 9v9 short field scrimmage before Friday's starters broke off
for their post match re-gen workout.
Quick Recap:
Portland plays one of it's best halves and takes it to a team they should beat. On the road to
dominance Portland gets goals from both starting forwards and wins 3-0.
First Half:
From the opening whistle the Portland Timbers came out with fire and an urgency. The urgency
wasn't one of desperation or so frantic that they were exposed but one that was a determined and
focused.
The New England Revolution will finish the season winless in the Pacific and Mountain time zones
after they fell 3-0 to the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field tonight. The loss has all but
mathematically ruled the Revolution out of the playoffs, while three points was exactly what
Portland needed to keep their postseason hopes a very real possibility.
That starting line up...made a lot of sense
One of the major frustrations this season has been the instability in the starting line up.
Lately, a lot of the comments on the PSP addressing how it sometimes takes until the second half
for Nowak to put out a line up that many would like to see as the starting XI.
The Portland Timbers came into Philadelphia and ground out a 0-0 draw with a frustrated
Philadelphia Union team on Saturday night. With the draw, the Union still have not won since
beating New England on July 17. After storming back to grab a point in Wednesday night's 4-4 draw,
they will be disappointed with only one point from a game where three were definitely there for the
taking.
Time: 7:30pm ET
Location: PPL Park, Chester, PA
TV: Comcast Network
To say Portland has been a mercurial team would be an understatement.
This is a team that can give up a two goal lead at home against Toronto, follow it up with a 3-0
thrashing of LA, then go to lowly San Jose and eke out a 1-1 draw.
Quotes:
Portland Timbers Quotes
Head Coach John Spencer
On the overall result and its importance:
"We had a couple of late scares there in the game, but I think we also had a couple of good chances
where we might've finished the game off. They're (Chivas USA) a very resilient group.
The Dynamo needed three points on Sunday night and thanks to first half goals from Brian Ching
and Adam Moffat, they got just that, defeating the Portland Timbers 2-1. It wasn't a dominating
performance and if not for a massive late save by Tally Hall on a point blank shot from Kenny
Cooper, it could have been another instance of dropped points at home.
Quick Recap:
The Portland Timbers scores first and against the run of play in the first half but gives up a
goal in the second half to take 1 point from the San Jose Earthquakes on the road.
First Half:
By far the starting line-up for this game was the most unusual line-up the Timbers haves used
all season.
Portland's StrategyJohn Spencer reverted to a 4-4-2 after experimenting the past few weeks with a 4-5-1. To pair with
Jorge Perlaza, Kenny Cooper was recalled to the lineup only after Eddie Johnson suffered a
concussion in warmups. Sal Zizzo and Darlington Nagbe operated on the wings with Diego Chara and
Marcelin anchoring the center of midfield.
A poised Portland Timbers club showed quite a progression versus a seasoned Independiente club from
Argentina. Behind first half goals from Sal Zizzo and Brian Umony combined with a stellar defensive
effort in the second half, the Timbers secured a well earned 2 to 0 victory. They can now turn
their attention to Toronto FC and their next MLS league fixture on July 30.
The Los Angeles Galaxy reserves are on the board.
Rookie Paolo Cardozo set up both Gregg Berhalter and Adam Cristman, and the Galaxy held on for
its first MLS Reserve League victory, a 2-1 result over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Monday.
Cristman's goal in the 73rd minute from the top of the penalty area proved to be the game-winner
after Whitecaps rookie Omar Salgado sliced the Vancouver deficit in half with a goal in the 77th
minute.
The Portland Timbers have gone on a pretty impressive run these last few weeks with only a
single loss and a single tie in the regular season since the home opener against the Chicago Fire.
Part of me is jubilant that the Timbers are resisting the trend to be just another "expansion" team
in their first year in MLS.
Sometimes life isn't flaming rainbows, towel ninjas and shaving bunnies. Instead it is preparing
for your most heated rival and finding out that the desired formation and lineup will have to
change - again. The Seattle Sounders did not play poorly against the Portland Timbers. Both teams'
goals were in fact indicative of their very style of play.
By JOSE M. ROMERO
The San Jose Earthquakes saved their very best for the final moments of their U.S. Open Cup
match Tuesday night against the Portland Timbers, and made a little history in the process.
Ike Opara headed in a cross from Sam Cronin in the 120th minute of a match that went into two
extra-time sessions, giving the Quakes a 1-0 win and their first U.
Today's match-up between the Galaxy and the expansion Portland Timbers is a tale of four teams
and the question is which two are going to show up.
On the one hand we have an expansion franchise (though not completely new the Timbers have
played quality futbol as part of the old USL-1 and other domestic leagues for years) which got a
point out of its first four games and then exploded at home for six points and seven gols.
Looking Back at the 2007 U20 FIFA World Cup
Vein of Form recently lashed out at the development (or lack thereof) of the youth players in the
US Soccer system. There is a serious cause for concern when you look at the current squad and see
very few young, exciting and talented players working their way into the squad.
First of all, my deepest apologies for the headline. I don't usually do the pun thing, and now
you see why.
TFC had its first home game of the season hosting Portland Timbers, the second expansion team of
MLS in 2011. Toronto had a dire performance against Vancouver the week before.
The Portland Timbers announced three additional signings: former Chivas USA midfielder Sal Zizzo,
former Timbers U-23 midfielder Freddie Braun, and former Timbers U-23 goalkeeper Jake Gleeson. The
Timbers also learned about the 2011 U.S. Open Cup format, which includes more lower division clubs
but no members from the D-2 NASL.
Union
Individual and group tickets went on sale yesterday. Buy! Buy! Buy!
On Wednesday we posted an update that linked to a Twitter message from former Trinidad & Tobago
goalkeeper Shaka Hilsop that said Thorne Holder had signed with the Union. Big Apple Soccer.com
posted a story saying that Holder's former college, Aldelphi University, had announced the signing
with a quote from coach Carlo Acquista congratulating Holder.
Chivas USA continues to make deals. Today, they traded midfielder Sal Zizzo to the Portland
Timbers in exchange for allocation money.
The 23-year old played in 10 games last season with Chivas while contributing one assist. He was
acquired by Chivas USA in a weighted lottery after signing with MLS in July 2010.
Chivas USA continues to make deals. Today, they traded midfielder Sal Zizzo to the Portland
Timbers in exchange for allocation money.
The 23-year old played in 10 games last season with Chivas while contributing one assist. He was
acquired by Chivas USA in a weighted lottery after signing with MLS in July 2010.
GUADALAJARA Las Chivas Rayadas de Guadalajara derrotaron por marcador de 3 -2 al New York Red
Bulls en el Estadio Omnilife y se llevó la Copa Gol Marketing, en una noche donde el 'Rebaño
Sagrado' vencio al equipo de Rafael Marquez y el mano larga de Thierry Henry de la major league
soccer de Estados Unidos en partido amistoso.
Here's what lies ahead for SoCal soccer lovers this week:
*The Galaxy and Chivas USA are both out of town.
The Galaxy headed to Arizona Sunday for a 10-day camp that will see them play the Colorado
Rapids Wednesday and Vancouver Sunday and next Tuesday.
*Chivas USA dropped a 1-0 decision to the Seattle Sounders Saturday in Casa Grande, Ariz.
