Here we are. Preparing to launch our last season in the 2nd division. Standing at the end of an era of Timbers history before plunging into MLS. And I have to say… I’m absolutely reveling in it. I’ve always been a planner and a schemer. Sometimes I enjoy saving and planning for a vacation more than taking the trip itself. Even more often I enjoy the workouts, rumors and horse trading of the NFL and NBA drafts more than the seasons themselves. Now is where history hasn’t been written yet. This is when anything is possible. This is the season where the Timbers organization and the Timbers Army will begin to shape all that is possible into a new wave of the American soccer experience.
Where We’ve Been
I joined the Timbers Army in earnest in the summer of 2002. What had been casual, uncommitted trips to the beer garden for most of the season began to change into something more ardent. The reasons were simple: I saw the US make a magical, pundit-denying run through the World Cup, I saw the Timbers Army in section 107 pounding on buckets and having more fun than anyone else in the stadium, and I saw McKinley Tennyson go on a goal-scoring streak the likes of which I’d never seen before.
From July 4th to August 13th, 2002, Tennyson scored 14 goals in 7 games, including 12 goals in 5 games at home. He couldn’t be dispossessed. He couldn’t be deterred. Once he got the ball at his feet, the man in the green and white hoops bulldozed his way to goal and bullied the ball into the back of the net. The Timbers Army danced on the dugout after each goal and sang songs which weren’t quite understandable all the way over in the beer garden. I was intrigued and soon wormed my way into the Timbers Army after a series of timid pub crawl encounters and pre-game pints at the Bitter End pub.
We were just happy to have a team to support at that time. Teams were folding faster than they could be replaced, the Timbers changed hands several times, and little to no money meant we fielded small squads with no advertising to support them. This actually added fuel to the party atmosphere. Treat each game as if it’s your last… because it just might be. After a few years, we reached a sort of equilibrium in stability. The owners were absentee, the manager single minded in his pursuit of punt and run 70’s English football, but we were probably going to be around next season and maybe even the season after.
It was 2005. The MLS started a new round of expansion with rich businessmen founding clubs in L.A. (Chivas USA) and Salt Lake City (Real Salt Lake). The chances of the Timbers moving up to the MLS were slim since Portland isn’t flush with the kind of money that franchise owners are made of. So we got defiant. Who needs MLS? The league isn’t stable anyway; they just barely avoided a strike after some 11th hour negotiating between MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Landon Donovan.
After a few more years of trials, tribulations, growth and experience, we met the news of Merritt Paulson buying the team with more or less of a shrug. The ownership entity was then called Shortstop, LLC. We thought it was another baseball guy buying the Timbers as a condition of AAA baseball ownership. We didn’t know at the time that this would set us down a path that would ultimately lead to an MLS franchise. Possibly Merritt didn’t know it either. Nearly 18 months of lobbying, cajoling, organizing, meeting, and working from the formation of the Task Force by the City of Portland to research the deal to the final vote in City Hall would follow. This also coincided with a season which featured the most talented group of players ever to wear a Timbers kit, attendance averages approaching 10,000 per game and a 24-match unbeaten streak. These were my favorite 18 months ever to be a Timbers fan.
Where We Are Now (Season Preview)
We enter this season already in the middle of a great upheaval of changes to what we have known and experienced. Construction has begun on stadium renovation. A non-profit organization was formed to help manage the financial, legal and charitable goals of the Timbers Army. Marketing campaigns have been started which are far larger in scope than any that have preceded them. There’s talk of a sellout crowd for the season opener. It’s no longer strange to me to see people on the street wearing Timbers scarves, happily chatting about the new season, and not recognize their faces or know their names.
And the team! What a gorgeous array of talent has been assembled to entertain us this season. From top to bottom this is easily the finest, and deepest, pool of players we’ve ever put together, lapping last season’s justifiably beloved squad. We know that the players know they’re playing for that MLS contract this season so there shouldn’t be any concerns about work ethic and training practices. These guys are going to leave it all on the field to prove to the team and fans that they deserve to move up with us next season; a thought that has me and many others absolutely salivating.
Here are my tips for some players to keep an eye on this season:
Goalkeeper: Steve Cronin – Had an outstanding season last year. Will hopefully have a healthy Adin Brown challenging him by mid-summer. May want an MLS contract with the team more than anyone to prove himself after a disappointing season with the LA Galaxy in 2008 where he was made the scapegoat for an awful defensive line.
Central Defender: Steve Purdy – A player with experience in the MLS and overseas, but how does he force his way onto the field with the imperious Stephen Keel playing in front of him along with “Futty” Danso who has easily been the most improved player this offseason and my Man of the Match in the Seattle preseason game?
Fullback: Quavas Kirk – With Ian Joy making the left back position his own, it’s up to Kirk to prove he’s made the transition for midfield to defense and claim that right back spot. He has the size and speed to hang with anyone on the field and he’s already made a few fearless tackles as well. I hope to see him time his overlapping runs to make an impact in the attack while still being able to cover his defensive assignments.
Defensive Midfielder: James Marcelín – The Haitian international was signed as a free agent after playing with the Puerto Rico Islanders. Islanders fans told me he had occasional lapses of concentration, which sometimes led to dangerous situations. He has incredible athleticism and great technical skills at this level and if he can put it all together he will absolutely terrify defenses into trying to play around or over him.
Attacking Midfielder: Ryan Pore – This was the hardest selection to make. Derek Gaudet is a live wire, Alex Nimo is playing to be taken in the expansion draft (I assume) and Johan Claesson was the man pulling the strings in the midfield last season. Last season, Pore was the guy who popped up with important goals and broke down defenses with his speed and timely runs. Having a player who can link the defense into the attack, especially through the wings, is a luxury all managers crave. Let’s see if he can keep his form from last season through this one and force the team to carry him into MLS.
Forward: George Josten – Josten played the role of target man very well last season. Winning balls in the air, pressuring defenders and holding possession were all keys to his play and how he ended up as Mandjou Keita’s partner last season, forcing Takayuki Suzuki to the bench. Occasionally, he’d show signs of being the player I described in McKinley Tennyson earlier; a player who would shrug off defenders and refuse to be denied. Josten has set a goal target for himself this season but didn’t divulge what that number would be. I’m setting it at 10 goals. If Josten can break double digits in goals as he continues to improve in other areas, he could also earn a contract. His early play in preseason shows a hunger to score that wasn’t quite as noticeable last season.
So what am I looking for this season? As always, I equivocate. By the end of the season, I want to have a good idea of what every player on our roster can do and have my own personal favorites of whom we should take with us to MLS. Giving players opportunities and keeping them fresh may mean we don’t congeal enough to match the 24-game unbeaten run or win the regular season title this year. Winning the league title is important, but not mandatory. The playoffs are even harder. It’s a prize we’ve never won, and would end our run in this league with a definitive bang, but anything can happen in a 2-game series. Not winning the playoffs would be a disappointment, but it wouldn’t mean an outright failure.
Here’s the stat I’ll be keeping my eye on this season: goal differential. Are we scoring and are we defending. Our goal differential last season was +28, meaning we scored on average roughly one goal per game more than our opponents (roughly 1.5 goals for and 0.5 goals against). I would like to stretch that further this season. With the talent we have, I expect to see flowing, attacking football. Keita and OJ Obatola have legitimate histories of scoring goals, Josten and Doug DeMartin are eager to prove the same. And with Nimo, Pore, and Brian Farber on the wings, we should get significant contributions there as well.
Where We’re Going
There is a palpable sense of excitement going into this season which is unlike any from seasons past. Players, management and fans all have butterflies in their stomachs, waiting to draw that last deep breath, before the final season of this iteration of the Timbers begins on Saturday. All of our exquisite hopes and fantasies will begin to turn into the grounded realities of facts and statistics. But this is tempered by new dreams of a future in Major League Soccer. Everything is still in flux. What will the stadium look like? How many people will we get to come to games? What will the team look like and will we have any star players to excite casual fans?
Everything changes. The hoops I remember from my first games are gone. No matter how joyous the matches, how improbable the triumph, I always feel a loss once the game is over. I find the finality of the past irreparably dull. Right now, we have a new team starting a new season where anything can happen. Everywhere you look there are plans and discussions\about the new stadium, logos, players and fans. The aspirations of the supporter will be poured into the foundations of our future. Where are we going? I’m not sure yet, but I’m going to exult in the journey from here to wherever we go, whenever we get there.
See you at the game.
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