The way the Portland Timbers caused this angst is pretty simple: they badly beat the Seattle Sounders in the playoffs. The specifics and ramifications though are what is interesting and what will have an effect on the coming seasons and derbies between the two sides. While Sounders fans get to revel in schadenfreude at the Timbers defeat to Real Salt Lake Sunday night, Portland fans can joyously rub their resounding victory over Seattle in their rival’s collective face. Sure, the Timbers were in dire straits until Frederic Picquionne’s goal with 30 seconds left in stoppage time made the home leg of the Western Conference Finals much more manageable, but before that they had sent the Sounders back north with their tail firmly clenched between their legs.
Any sports base is going to be a little neurotic, but losing to your eternal rival, the devil to your angel, is cause for any sort of breakdown. If Seattle had won, they would be in the Conference Finals instead, and this discussion would not be happening. But they lost so there is now much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth.
But fans are fans and even now are grasping for any sort of hope for the future and an explanation for the past. There were lots of injuries and national team call-ups this season that made it hard to gel as a team. Obafemi Martins was not available until after the first few winless games of the season had been played and was not able to make a full impact and then was injured for the horrid final six weeks. Clint Dempsey could not mix well with the team because he was only acquired during the stretch run and dealt with his own series of injuries and call-ups. All of these “but ifs” are an excuse for the Sounders’ dismal end to the season. Ideally, next year holds promise because those things will not be a factor. However, there is still the question of personnel and coaching for next season that must be addressed.
For that reason, the entire offseason for the Sounders is now in disarray. Portland’s dominance against them with a team built on players who complemented each other to become greater than the individual talent on the field—rather than making shiny and perhaps ill-suited signings—provoked anguished cries from the fanbase for a change. Head coach Sigi Schmid needs to go after several huge losses in playoff away legs over the years and allegedly unchanging rigid and predictable tactics, the backline needs to get younger, speedier players, the midfield needs a replacement for captain Mauro Rosales—and on and on the demands have gone.
Seattle has lots to figure out and not a lot of room to maneuver. For wealthy teams like the Sounders, the salary-cap is a huge disadvantage. Three of the most pressing issues for the Sounders are what to do with Schmid, how to fix the backline, and the statuses of Eddie “Headdie” Johnson, Rosales, and utility man Brad “Formidfender” Evans. Because of the Dempsey and Martins acquisitions, the Sounders are already nearly are at the cap, thus making it difficult to adjust the team without losing significant pieces like leading scorer Johnson. He could be turned into a designated player (DP) to help open up some cap space, but that leaves the Sounders with the three allowed DP slots tied up in forwards with pressing needs elsewhere. Other players like Steve Zakuani and Rosales are making over $250,000 with minimal contributions in the case of Zakuani or an inability to stay on the field due to age in the case of Rosales. Their deals have to be either restructured, or they have to be released.
Michael Gspurning may also have serious competition for the goalkeeper position if the Seattle front office does not have faith in his ability to rebound after a less than stellar season. During the Sounders atrocious run at the end of the season, he had some serious gaffes and clearly lost confidence. Next year he needs to come back as the unquestioned starter otherwise a ‘keeper competition could be at hand, and the team could be even more unsettled.
But some personnel issues are firmly settled. Dempsey will be there. Rookie All-Star DeAndre Yedlin will hold down the rightback spot. But whether or not the others are there remains to be seen. The Sounders have lots to figure out, and the Timbers have helped set the terms of engagement with their team.
Portland by contrast is well-situated with Donovan Ricketts, Jack Jewsbury, and the Gambian Wall on defense, Will Johnson and Diego Chara as bruising midfielders, and Diego Valeri, Darlington Nagbe, and Rodney Wallace powering the offense. This is a team carefully molded to fit Caleb Porter’s preferred style of play instead of one predicated on making a splash signing or two. After a thumping defeat, Sounders fans are upset and anxious that their team cannot perform on the same level as a team that spends so little. The ability of the Timbers to thrash a team like the Sounders will make any fanbase question their team’s capability to execute and grow a fear that they cannot catch—let alone surpass—their rival. The Timbers’ victory made it clear that a team with famous players will not defeat a smartly constructed one, and that has been the source of much consternation to the Sounders’ fanbase.
Without a loss to Portland, Seattle’s offseason problems would not loom nearly as large, and the blast-radius of blame for a troubled season would be much smaller. But the Timbers shook the Sounders down and took their lunch money, depositing their rivals at the bottom of their downward spiral. Seattle was going to have plenty of questions to answer no matter how their season ended, but Portland ensured that not only would they have to be answered in full, they would have to be defined in relation to their fiercest—and clearly better—rival. The Sounders now have to think in terms of “how do we beat that team down South” with their confidence in their supposed superiority shaken and shattered. The Portland Timbers are the ones who decree the laws of Cascadia now.
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