Is It Time To Sell High On Fanendo Adi?

For 86 minutes on an unusually warm Portland evening last Saturday, the Portland Timbers did everything most everything right except score against the New England Revolution. Then, in a three-minute span, Fanendo Adi twice rewarded the Timbers’ efforts, clinically finishing two beautiful passes from Jorge Villafaña and Alvas Powell, leading to a 2-0 win and their first three-game (regular season) winning streak since joining MLS in 2011.

Diego Valeri missed his third consecutive game due to an ankle injury, so Coach Caleb Porter opted to keep both Gastón Fernández and Maximiliano Urruti in the starting lineup. In the first half, Portland and New England both played a relatively open style, leading to numerous chances for both sides in what was an entertaining game to watch, despite the lack of scoring. In the second half, Darlington Nagbe began asserting himself more on the ball and on the attack, and the Timbers were far more dominant in both possession and shots. But it wasn’t until the 86^th minute when Adi perfectly placed a header into the top corner of the goal off a beautifully-struck free kick by Villafaña that Portland was finally able to take the lead. Adi would add another three minutes later, tapping in a picture-perfect cross from a streaking Powell for the final score of 2-0.

Adi was excellent off the bench, providing a spark to the Portland offense and physically challenging New England’s already-tired defenders. This was Adi’s sixth two-goal game and his 15^th goal overall in since joining Portland last May. Saturday night was further proof that, when he is right and playing with confidence, Adi has a rare combination of size and skill that completely changes what the Timbers are capable of offensively. The frustration with Adi has never been about his talent; just watch how perfectly he places the header on the first goal Saturday night for evidence of that. No, the issue with Adi has always been one of consistency, and Caleb Porter’s decision to start Urruti for three straight games over a healthy Designated Player should tell anyone all they need to know about where Porter’s trust currently lies.

Since joining the Timbers, Adi has logged 2,476 minutes and scored 15 goals for a reasonably respectable rate of .54 goals per game. For comparisons sake, Adi falls just below the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Obafemi Martins, Chris Wondolowski, and Clint Dempsey in that category for 2015, and among similar company for 2014. All of them are all-star players, league icons, focal points for their team, game in and game out and Adi’s numbers rank right with them. So why is it that Adi has found himself outside the starting lineup in five of the last eight games?

Because take away those six multi-goal games, and you have a total of three goals scored in 36 appearances. Consider that for a moment – Adi has twice as many two-goal games as he does games when he only puts a single goal on the board, with far too many games of zero production in between.

If Adi were just another player on the Timbers’ roster, this would not need to be a topic of conversation. After all, Urruti has only two goals this season in 684 minutes to Adi’s 964; so why does Adi earn the brunt of the criticism that escape his teammates? Because Adi is one of Portland’s three allowed Designated Players, along with Valeri and Liam Ridgewell. These are the players that are brought into MLS teams to make a difference – to take an average team to the next level, or make a good team great. Just look at the impact Valeri has when he’s on the field for Portland; in 2014, he set the Timbers’ single -season record for both goals and assists. That is the kind of impact needed from their Designated Players if Portland wants to run with the elite teams of MLS on a consistent basis and is the kind of impact that Adi has not shown he can make on a consistent basis.

Saturday was a great night for the Timbers and for Adi, and he earned every bit of the love and applause that came from the Timbers faithful. But Timbers Owner Merritt Paulson and General Manager Gavin Wilkinson should see this as an opportunity to sell high on a player who has never truly lived up to the lofty expectations while simultaneously opening up an invaluable Designated Player spot to acquire the kind of talent that can take this Portland team from good to great.