Not a Portland supporter, but watched the game. Why wasn't Mike Chabala in the lineup? And will he play this weekend? Thanks in advance
I may be wrong, but my view is that when we want to attack we will see Wallace and when we expect to bunker and counter we will see Chabala.
Not at all. Mosquera's ITC papers only just came in today from Colombia. Mosquera is above Baptiste. AJB was just pressed into service because Futty and Horst are injured as well.
HA! Thanks for the laugh! Wallace is a shit defender who should be no where near the backline. I dont blame him though. Why Spencer continues to play him there i have no idea. As for Baptiste, i see no reason why he shouldnt start this weekend. If you are good enough you are old enough. Kid is def good enough.
If you're right that really says something about Chabala then doesn't it? Wallace played very well against the Union, two different blogs gave him an '8' player rating.
Being fair Wallace had a good game going forward. I dont see this as spectacular though because he was a mid before coming here. His defensive positioning is terrible. He got caught out 4 times by balls over the top because he was too far forward against the Union. Luckily Baptiste was aware to this and cleaned up every time. Better teams will take advantage of this and it will cost us. Let Chabala play or how about Kowaluk or Taylor? People who actually, ya know, play that position. What a revelation! And as i type this i see he is starting again. Whoopee!
Bottom line is we are thin at outside back. Wallace isn't great. Neither is Chabala or Palmer (although Palmer has looked less horrible lately than he did at the end of last season). The rest are totally unproven. We have 5 decent-to-good centerbacks and 0 good outside backs. I had expected us to sign at least one reinforcement there in the off-season and was surprised we didn't. Its an area we need to address during the season if we want to be successful.
I too wish we had more options for outside backs. Wallace shouldn't be considered a defender at all--of course, when Zizzo and Songo'o are healthy and available, the competition at the wings will be thick so that might never be an option for him with this squad. Chabala I think has been solid and consistent if unspectacular.
Well, given that Alexander, Alhassan, Songo'o & Zizzo have pretty much locked down the wing midfield spots, doesn't it seem to make sense to try Wallace somewhere else? I'm a fan of Chabala, but I must admit that trying to put someone with Wallace's athleticism at LB isn't that bad of an idea. He looked good against a mediocre Philly team, and looked mediocre against a good Dallas team. I wouldn't call that a total failure. When we start playing some really big games later this year, Wallace's experience at LB may actually pay off.
The thing is this is Wallaces second go round at LB. It wasnt that great last year. It hasnt been that great this year. First two games were big games. Remember that 4 nil drubbing in Dallas last year? Every game is a big game.
That is quite optimistic outlook on Wallace. If Timbers want to make a statement in playoffs, Wallace needs to step up his play....in a big way. I understand the Timbers don't have many viable backs to work with and Wallace is a viable option in Spennie's eyes. Hopefully he will improve as the season goes along.
OK, you got me. I have been optimistic on Wallace because of his athleticism, but I do think it's time to give Chewy a look at LB. That said, I don't think that Wallace is the scapegoat either. He gave up the PK, but he was basically giving emergency coverage for our CBs when the handball happened. Our defense between the circles needs to get better -- it's where all 3 of the RSL goals were created.
Let's put it this way: they need a dominant CB that can clean up the middle and they will be a kick ass team. Attacking is not an issue. I agree Wallace is not the only problem, but he surely has lots of room for improvement. I do think Spennie would be wise to see what other options he has before getting into the meat of the season.
The sooner people stop thinking this is an acceptable substitute for actual skill the sooner this country starts developing quality players.
Maybe Chad Ochocinco thought athleticism alone is good enough to play in MLS, but I never said that. Look, Rodney Wallace needs to learn the nuances of LB for sure, but anyone claiming that he's unskilled has clearly forgotten this... http://youtu.be/fE9FR4EOvcQ and this... http://youtu.be/6nVkXBx1VEU He also was the first touch in the buildup to Nagbe's second goal last week.
Enlightening. Tenuous but illustrative example why he is not. Where is his best pal Jeremy Hall? 0 GP, 0 Min in 2012. For TFC. With all their problems and schedule congestion he still can't see the field on that team.
