Your team is undefeated. They haven't even been drawn. Wow, what a great start. And can any of you tell me about this Jake Sagare kid? What are his strengths? Etc.? He keeps getting assists. Go Portland!
That's great, but let's see if we can get some chatter going on here about the Timbers. Sounds like it's going to be a great season out there!
Yeh not many of us hang out over here on BigSoccer but don't mistake that for lack of enthusiasm for this young campaign. The link Lendog gave you is where we congregate. But to answer your question, we Timbers fans believe that Jake Sagare has got to be one of the more underrated U.S. soccer players in the country right now. For the past two seasons he has played the summer with us and then gone over to England and played at Grimsby Town and Halifax Town. Jakes biggest assets are his crossing ability and his speed and quickness. The guy just blows by folks. Some of our other good players: Byron Alvarez - castoff from the Metros and rejuvenated his career in Portland last year. We love Byron. He is a pure goalscorer Hugo Alcarez-Cuellar - another one of our midfielders who for the life of me I cannot figure out why he is not playing in MLS. Watching some of the donkeys I see on T.V. in the MLS makes me appreciate Hugo's skills all the more. Aaron Heinzen - Left sided defener. Grew up playing with Jake in Yakima, WA. Aaron gets forward really well. Dangerous on the counter. Lee Morrison - Dallas Burn castoff. Watching Dallas's defense last year makes me wonder why they got rid of him. He wins absolutely everything in the air. Gavin Wilkinson - Our captain and heart, big old Kiwi. He is an International with New Zealand. Not the worlds fastest central defender but has impeccable timing. Josh Saunders - Simply the best keeper in the A-League. Was on loan from San Jose for part of last year, could have sat on the bench in Columbus but choose to sign with Portland this year. Finally the Timbers have the best damn supporters club in the nation. The Timbers Army brings it every game with songs, chants, pyro and energy in a section that has now swelled to over 200 active members. A week and a half ago we rolled into Seattle (about 3 hours from Portland) with 70 folks for the Timbers away game there. There is a small group flying to Atlanta and Charleston next weekend. Hope this answers some of your questions, feel free to visit our forum. We also have some other good sites: Timberlog: http://www.users.qwest.net/~dallen3/timbers.html TimberMill: http://www.soccercityusa.com/timbers/ timbers official: http://www.pgepark.com/timbers/ timbers army: www.timbersarmy.com TimbersFanPage: http://www.timbersfanpage.com/
I think some of our success this season lies in playing more of a midfield game. Our first three seasons in the A-League relied on long passes to the corners and crosses into the box. This year we have some talented midfielders that aren't afraid to take the ball up the middle. They have better ball control than in the past. We have good heading skills and lots of speed on the outside-Jake Sagare is very fast and Hugo Alcarez is everywhere at once. Alvarez has a knack for the goal and rookie Alan Gordon out of Oregon State is proving to be a great find. I think both of his goals last weekend at Vancouver were on headers. Gordon's got a lot of heighth and gives it his all. Wilko is the heart and soul of the Timbers. Great guy. And Josh Saunders-great addition to the team last season-so much better than Curtis Spiteri (whatever happened to him anyway? Let's in 6 goals in 45 minutes while playing for the Fire last season and falls of the face of the Earth) So far so good this year. I hope the boys can keep the momentum going. It really helped that the majority of the 2003 club returned for another season (even with the team in dire financial footing) and FINALLY getting a good, balanced schedule.
Lets not forget a big reason why Portland is 4-0 this season. They got to sit and wait in Vancouver while the Whitecaps were playing the day before on astroturf in frigid Calgary. That pretty well guaranteed Portland a good result against the Whitecaps. Well, that and the fact that the Whitecaps coach is a moron.
Too bad the Timbers had to let Tennyson go. I hope he overcomes his injury and lands somewhere good for him. Lots of good thoughts sent out to him at http://www.soccercityusa.com/bbs If you want to watch the Timbers in action without having to travel to Portland, then check them out on Fox Sports World when they travel to Charlston to take on the Battery, Friday, June 4 at 7 pm CST. I'm looking forward to watching Sagare and Alcaraz-Cuellar in the midfield -- not to mention Alvarez and Gordon up top. Should be a good game against last year's league champs.
Come on Krammerhead the Timbers have had the absolute worse schedule for the past three seasons - remember when the played an 8:00 game in El Paso last year on Saturday night and then flew to Milwaukie for a 3:00 game the next day last year? Blame the scheduling on you GM. Our GM finally got it right this year.
A small contingent of the Timbers Army will be in attendance for this game also. I think 8 of us right now are going. Should be a good time. As for Kei, he will be missed but we had to free up salary space for our imminent signing of Andrew Gregor which is going to make our already strong midfield even stronger.
I'm not talking about last year, the year before that or any other time in the history of the game. I'm talking about the present situation and giving the reason as to why the game in Vancouver was so easy for Portland. The Whitecaps more than held there own in the first 20 minutes of Sundays game. However having played the night before in near freezing Calgary on their horrible astroturf took it's toll on the players who then had to travel to Vancouver and play the next night a team that was already in town waiting for them after a weeks rest. Yes, I do blame both the Vancouver GM and Calgary GM for at least not deciding to schedule the game the night before on the Friday, giving both teams the day off before their next games. Instead they chose Saturday-Sunday to play. It affected Calgary as well as they fell apart as well and lost 5-0 to the Sounders. Surely you don't wan't to give all that credit to Seattle do you? It's looking good for Portland as the next time Vancouver comes to play you it's another 2 games in 2 nights deal for them.
Hey, every team in the A-League has to deal with these types of scheduling situations. And many times it is not fair for only one of the teams -- they play twice over two or three days while their opponents only play the once. What goes around comes around. The Whitecaps will get their turn to take advantage of the schedule at some point I'm sure. Beyond that, the coaches of teams have to look at their schedule and plan accordingly. Play your most important regular starters for half or most of the first game so they can start the second. Use your whole squad for such situations. There are many ways to plan and prepare for a tough weekend schedule. I actually wish the MLS would do more of this kind of thing so the teams would really have to use their rosters and some of the coaches would actually have to coach [and develop their players]. From what I have heard, the Whitecaps coach wouldn't do well in my son's U8 division. If he doesn't prepare his team properly for two games in two days, it is not the opponent's fault. They came to play. So should the Whitecaps.
But you are totally missing my point. I know that every team has to do that, although in this case it's mystifying, Vancouver could have played in Calgary Friday night, or heck even on Thursday night as it doesn't affect their attendance as nobody ever shows up in Calgary so who cares when they play there home games. There was no problem with stadium availability and both Calgary and Vancouver had nothing else to do Thursday night. However I was just stating a fact that Portland had the advantage in this match. Had they not, perhaps they wouldn't be 4-0 which is what this thread is about, and why I brought it up. If we are goingto talk about Portland being 4-0 then it's fair to bring up one of the reasons.
And it is also fair to say that since they are 4-0 that they were better than the teams that played in each game. That may be different in the future. But for now they are undefeated. That's a great start -- yeah only four games. Hey, I wish my Wizards were 4-0 to start the season. I just think this is fantastic for the Timbers organization and maybe this will in someway help them off the field too.
Krammerhead, make as many excuses as you would like....Vancouver still lost. It's not like Portland set them up to play their schedule the way that they did. Portland has a pretty tough schedule in July....They will first play Vancouver on the 16th of July and then travel to Seattle to play Seattle on the 17th. So if they lose in Seattle on the 17th then at least they can use your excuse about the schedule. Back-to-back games can be tough, however, to a good team (or coach) they should never be an excuse for losing. Go Timbers!!!
I think they are hoping to get over 10,000 to some of their home games if they keep it up. They've all but captured the inaugural Cascadia Cup.
I doubt we will get 10,000 to any games this year. Despite the good start, the media powers-that-be in this city aren't interested in covering the team. The franchise is still at this moment being run by a triple a baseball league so forgot anything in the way of marketing. Wins are nice for the die hards but the casual fan could probably care less. Case in point, last year after the Timbers were elminated from the playoffs the largest crowd of the season showed up to watch an El Paso team that was probably the least entertaining team to watch in all of the league. I agree with Krammerhead that playing on the crud turf in Calgary couldn't have helped the Whitecaps, but for once the Timbers took advantage of being the fresher team. I remember reading in an Ohio paper last year that the A-league mandates that each team play at least four back-to-backs each season. Really hurts the quality of play around the league.
Rain or shine myself, my wife, and two kids will be at the game Saturday. (looks like rain). My wife got us the tickets for my birthday this week! I am excited. I just wish we could find the time to come more often. Go Timbers! Scumby
I'm so glad that at least one person has the intelligence to understand what I was saying. Seasons only 4 games in though, and that was Vancouvers first loss in 19 games going back to last season. Before anybody says "but Seattle eliminated you from the playoffs last season" lets remember that the Seattle game ended a 1-1 draw with Seattle advancing on PK's.
Krammerhead you know I got no love for the Flounders but technically they DID eliminate you from the playoffs (and in the process made a complete ass of themselves). I have no idea whether tired Vancouver legs played into the win or not. I have personally seen the Timbers play back to back games and play BETTER in the second game so who knows? The Timbers could easily draw more than 10K (as we have drawn more than 10K for several matches the past two years when we were ********e and/or eliminated from the playoffs) if this winning streak keeps up. One problem - the media in P-Town all but pretends they don't exist. I am to the point of utter frustration with these bastards. They just keep lying to me with one excuse after another. "If the fans come...", "If the team wins", "If you get more than 10K fans". Everytime we reach one of their "requirements" for more coverage they just move the goalposts. I don't think we will get anywhere near 10K this weekend though, memorial day weekend combined with predicted rain will keep the turnout down.
Krammerhead, I have understood what you were saying all along. But this thread was started to talk about the Timbers and their good start. If you want to start the "Whitecaps Excuses For Why We Lose Games" thread, be my guest. Tired legs or no, they had to play the game and they lost. Get over it and on with the season. Good luck to you and the Whitecaps. Go Timbers!
Hartley. I was talking about the Timbers and their good start. It's just that I happened to give a reason for why they won their last start. Good thing I did, or this thread would have died out after 4 responses. So since this is a public board, and posts are open for all to respond to, I suggest you get over it. Good day.
For those who've never been to a Timbers game, you are missing out. The atmosphere in PGE Park (thanks in large part to the Timbers Army) is among the best in the A-League and many MLS clubs can't compare. You can watch all the games you want on television, but to see a game live, in a decent stadium is priceless. Make it a point to attend as many soccer games as possible, that can only grow the game. Portland area fans listen up and attend the games rain or shine (don't be a fair weather fan).
I have to agree with Joe Guy....great atmosphere at PGE park. I attended the last away game in Seattle with the Timbers Army and the only atmosphere in Seahawks stadium was the Timber's Army! Nice BIG stadium though. Go Timbers!!!
Pregame plans for the Timbers Army and all Timbers fans for tonight's game against Milwaukee. 4:00 Mcfaddens (1st and NW Couch) Jump the train up to the Bullpen (17th and SW Taylor) @ around 5:30 Cheers
Sorry Chicago, sorry D.C. after last night's match the Timbers Army has now taken the reigns as the loudest and most badass supporters in the United States.