Goalkeeper Doug Herrick is no longer training with the club.
I just got confirmation that Timbers Supplemental Draft pick Doug Herrick is no longer training
with the team. It seemed likely given that he was left off of the preseason roster, but this
confirmation makes Joe Bendick the likely candidate to be the Timbers 3rd string keeper behind Troy
Perkins and Jake Gleeson.
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.
Despite being a closed session today without any tasty tidbits from John Spencer to chew on,
today's Timbers practice was an interesting one none the less.
Although Kris Boyd was, not surprisingly, not yet practicing we were told that he would likely
join the team in around ten days while they are in California.
Now that the Timbers have a compliment of 30 players total we can sort
of assume that the team is going to settle down a bit and look towards building for their starting
11 in March. I know, I know the hot rumor is that a third DP will be coming soon as a true #9
striker. But even without him we can sort of piece together how the squad will look in this
upcoming season as compared to last year.
The "expansion" Portland Timbers had a debut MLS season to remember. The team quickly became the
darling of the TV networks with their passionate and creative fans, the team played an exciting
brand of soccer, and the resurgence of Jack ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
The Portland Timbers announced some significant changes to their roster and some additional moves
to help secure their future. Goalkeeper Troy Perkins and defender David Horst both signed new
contracts while the Timbers waived seven players. One of those waived, defender Kevin Goldthwaite,
will not pursue other opportunities as he officially retired after completing a seven year career
in Major League Soccer.
One thing right after another today. With the sad news of Kevin Goldthwaite's retirement -- due
to, I suspect, injuries -- comes more roster news with a couple re-signings and some other, sadly
enough, players dropped.
The first bit of news is very welcome to me, personally, as both our star goalkeeper Troy
Perkins and up and coming center back defender David Horst were re-signed to new contracts of which
we're not quite sure about the details.
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
Tonight kicks off the SB Nation Mock Expansion Draft where each current editor for each
respective SBN blog will protect their chosen eleven from our soon-to-be Montreal Impact editor
here with the great MLS blog family. It should be a lot of fun and I hope you join us at 4:00 PM
today for the actual mock draft.
Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
The Jay Heaps coaching era in New England is officially underway.
Heaps was introduced as New England Revolution head coach at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday,
taking over for the ousted Steve Nicol.
Heaps retired from playing for the Revolution in 2009 and was most recently a color analyst for
the team's television broadcasts.
Kasey Keller gets another nod of recognition. This time through the power of the fans who
selected his flurry against the San Jose Earthquakes as the Major League Soccer Save of the Year.
Pulling in 42% of the vote the Seattle Sounders keeper beat out Troy Perkins' two nominations and
outfield player Teemu Tainio's incredible move.
Here is our last opportunity to vote.
How it works
- Vote by posting a Yes (to Protect) or No (don't Protect) in the subject of a comment, then
explain why in the message
- We (the editors) will keep track of all the yes/no votes for each player
- At the end of the whole roster we will total up the results and post the community's Protected
list
- Your list will be compared to the list of each contributing editor
- The only player we will not be voting on is Darlington Nagbe as he is automatically protected
based on his Generations Adidas Status.
Kasey Keller Makes Final Four For Save of Year
Thank you internet.
Oh, Troy Perkins is in there too. What evs
John Spencer could have few decisions to make about his protection list if his owner's words are
true. (Getty Images)
This could easily be one of the easier draft lists that I do. Why? The Timbers owner Merritt
Paulson said recently on Twitter that the Timbers and the Montreal Impact have an agreement in
place for the Impact not to pick anyone from the Timbers roster.
Last night the Portland Timbers had an event at the Nines hotel in downtown Portland to
celebrate the season ending as well as hand out a bunch of awards to the players and coaching
staff. Pretty typical, really... Still, it's important to recognize a players achievement
throughout and this was a fine way to do it.
Quick Recap:
The Portland Timbers came out and showed that they still had pride in wearing Timbers Green and
show flashes of brilliance. Real Salt Lake unfortunately struck first but Portland kept fighting
and got the equalizer late. 1-1 Tie.
First Half:
John Spencer decided to keep a good thing going and started the same starting 11 that came out
strong against D.
It is that time again for the player ratings based on a 1 to 10 scale. 1 being bad and 10 being
epic.
- Rodney Wallace - 5 - Really thought he started out really well but faded as the game
went on
- Futty Danso - 7 - Without him and Brunner the Timbers would have lost
- Eric Brunner - 6 - Got turned way to easily on the goal but saved another one
- Eric Alexander - 6 - I really thought he relieved a ton of pressure and got out of tight
spots, once he was taken off it was back to the kick and chase
It is that time again for the player ratings based on a 1 to 10 scale.
The difference between MLS and most other major American sports leagues is that two teams with
losing records can play a low scoring game in the rain and have it be one of the most exciting
games of the year. ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.
Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
WASHINGTON -- After a late flurry of action both ways, two things are clear: The Portland
Timbers' postseason chances are still alive, and D.C. United's season is over.
Despite late heroics from MVP candidate Dwayne De Rosario and a number of chances in the waning
minutes, D.
Week 31 of MLS action was one to remember. Playoff positions were decided, old coaching friends
squared off and Seattle set a record in attendance that likely wont be broken for years to come.
Pedro Gomes has your recaps. Follow him on twitter @MLSSuperSub
Portland Timbers 0, Houston Dynamo 2
Portland hosted the Houston Dynamo in front of 20,323 fans at JELD-WEN Field in a crucial battle
for post season life.
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.
Houston Dynamo (10-9-13, 43 pts.) vs. Portland Timbers (11-13-7, 40 pts.) Jeld-Wen Field -
Portland, OR - 9:30pm
BROADCAST INFORMATION Dynamo Weekly on KHOU 11.2 from 9-9:30 p.m. KHOU 11.2 (ENG TV) FS
Houston Plus (ENG TV) TV Azteca-51 (SPN TV) SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio) La Ranchera 850 (SPN
Radio)
PREVIEW A massive game in the chase for places in the MLS Cup Playoffs is ahead at Jeld-Wen
Field on Friday night when the Portland Timbers play host to the Houston Dynamo.
The news that Sal Zizzo is planning to open a food cart spread like wildfire last week, and
everyone wanted to talk about it after the training session on Monday. Among the other topics of
conversation were Houston's long awaited return to the Rose City and what special significance that
has to Mike Chabala and Lovel Palmer.
Today's practice took place at Jeld-Wen Field under overcast skies. By the end of practice the
crisp breeze blowing through the stadium would be supplemented by just the slightest sprinkling of
rain. As Captain Jack would later tell us, it was the kind of weather that lets you know it is time
to do or die.
Based on a 1-10 scale:
- Troy Perkins - 7 - Made the two saves we needed and combined with the back four kept the 9th
shutout of the season for him
- Eric Brunner - 7 - Once again shut down a good forward and really didn't have any mistakes
- Futty Danso - 7 - Really we can't go wrong with either Futty or Horst alongside Eric
Brunner
- Mike Chabala - 6 - Was a great outlet and functioned well within the offense but seemed to get
beat too often defensively
Lovel Palmer - 6 - Didn't see much from him going forward and seemed vulnerable defensively but no
huge mistakes James Marcelin - 7 - Played his game and didn't try to do too much, great fill in for
Jack Jewsbury Diego Chara - 8 - He really has a motor and great vision, I think one of the best box
to box midfielders in the MLS Darlington Nagbe - 7 - Liked how he pushed up more to put the
pressure on defending him should amazing skill, which is par for the course for him Sal Zizzo - 6 -
Made some great runs but just didn't get as involved as he has been Jorge Perlaza - 6 - Stretched
the D but just didn't get enough out of him Kenny Cooper - 8 - Great job and excellent finish.
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.
Welcome to our new series! I'll be doing this for each and every game this season from now on
because, well, it's kind of fun. Essentially what it is is a simulation put on by FIFA 12. I
controlled none of the players instead allowing the computer to play as both the Portland Timbers
and Vancouver Whitecaps to get the fairest results.
The Timbers training yesterday was fairly straight forward. After warm ups concentrating on
checking toward a player to receive a pass, the Timbers broke into a three team game with the top
scorer and best defender being bought lunch by Coach Spencer.
Omar Jasseh continued his trial with the team, combining well with other players several times
during practice and generally looking very slick with the ball.
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.
The New York Red Bulls desperately needed a win on Saturday night and responded to that pressure
with one of their better performances in recent memory.
The Portland Timbers also came into the match needing a result, but played a flat first half and
saw a questionable penalty call and red card effectively end their chances of coming away from Red
Bull Arena with a result.
The Philadelphia Union announced on Friday afternoon the signing of goalkeeper Kerry "Chase"
Harrison. Harrison joins the Union from the Harrisburg City Islanders.
The signing comes after news of the concussion suffered by Union back-up goalkeeper Thorne
Holder during a reserve league match against Columbus Crew on Sunday.
I have one word to describe that game: Bleh.
Again the ratings are based on a 10 point scale:
Ratings
Troy Perkins - 7 - He made two amazing saves that helped preserve the 1 point that Portland
earned (not sure it was deserved)
Futty Danso - 6 - You will probably see this a lot but didn't really make any mistakes
but really didn't show a lot
Eric Brunner - 7 - really put his body on the line in multiple occasions and helped
stymie Chris Wondlowski
Mike Chabala - 6 - Didn't seem as involved in the attack but then again who was for the
Timbers
Lovel Palmer - 7 - Really had his hands full defensively as Alhassan decided to roam
around the pitch a lot more but showed he is up to the task
Kalif Alhassan - 6 - I like his aggressiveness and looking for long shots but when all
but 2 of them go high or wide it might be a better idea to do something else with the ball.
By JOSE M. ROMERO
Winning was what they wanted. Losing was what they absolutely could not do. But a draw was what
happened for the Portland Timbers Wednesday night at Jeld-Wen Field, a difficult result to take
since Portland let its lead in the game slip away.
Portland 3 - New England 0 Portland started the Week 26 schedule with a resounding win over New
England. Diego Chara opened the scoring at JELD-WEN Field in the 9th minute, with Kenny Cooper
making it 2-0 in the 32nd. Darlington Nagbe finished off the scoring in the 66th, with Troy Perkins
picking up the shutout.
Once again based on a ten point scale with 1 being epic Fail, 10 being "godlike" and five
meaning they didn't help but they didn't hurt.
- Eric Brunner- 7 - He did everything we needed him to do to secure a clean sheet and when
he wasn't able to clean up the other defenders did.
- Futty Danso - 6 - Looked a little rusty out there but he made enough plays to keep the
clean sheet, pulled a Cooper by being called offside twice on goal scoring opportunities.
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 Portland Timbers got the vital 3-0 win at home on Friday night they needed to stay in the
playoff hunt, while ending any dreams of the postseason still held by the New England
Revolution.
Despite several chances, Milton Caraglio failed to find the back of the net on Friday. (Photo by
CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.
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.
Featured image: Paul Rudderow
When Freddy Adu joined the Union, Roger Torres must have wondered if he would get relegated to
starring in reserve matches for the rest of the season. Fortunately, the Union's most improved
young player has found the minutes plentiful in recent weeks and has played some of the best soccer
of his Union career.
The Portland Timbers returned to practice this Wednesday after taking Tuesday off to rest and
recuperate. After the usual passing drills the Timbers broke into a 10v10 full-field passing drill
followed by a full 11v11 scrimmage.
Futty Danso participated in the full practice once again and looked like he was rapidly
approaching full match fitness, particularly in the full-field drill where he was not shy about
contesting a header and knocking Rodney Wallace out of his way (and right out of the air).
