It’s a bad time for the Timbers. Nine games into our 34-game 2012 season, we have eight points, and sit bottom of the West on two wins, two draws, and five losses. We’ve lost two of our five matches at home and we are seven points out of the playoff hunt.
But we all know that. Let’s hear some good news.
1) Futty.
In our mostly disappointing 0-0 draw with Columbus, there was perhaps no greater moment than just seeing Futty Danso in the starting lineup. It pains me to see Brunner on the bench, but Futty and Mosquera are the most powerful and intimidating center backs we can put out there. The big man from the Gambia is back, and that means good things for the Timbers.
2) Jack in the Back.
To put it politely and excise all the cursing, I was disappointed when the starters against Columbus were announced and Jack Jewsbury was moved to right back. It struck me as a desperation move by John Spencer to keep his captain on the pitch regardless of his poor performances. I wanted him benched, and his armband handed to someone else. And I was wrong. Jack was far from perfect in his role as Timbers right back, but he saved one goal and was far more involved on the ball than he has been in the midfield. Next to the win over Kansas City (where you could argue he played mostly defense anyway), this may have been his best performance of the year, and our lack of depth at fullback means he may be our best option there for now. An improvement, and a good coaching decision by Spencer.
3) Injuries are waning.
We have had long injury lists all season, including a mix of players injured last season, those hurt in the preseason, and the regular day to day knocks. Before the Columbus game, our injury list consisted of 4 players: Steve Purdy (out, concussion), Kalif Alhassan (doubtful, knee), Jake Gleeson (doubtful, knee), David Horst (questionable, hip). No Songo’o, no Zizzo, no Futty. This is the healthiest we’ve been all season.
4) Defensive stats.
In the last three games, which include the absolute cluster in Montreal, we have lost once and conceded a total of two goals. We’ve kept two clean sheets and gathered up four points. It doesn’t feel like it, mostly because we also haven’t scored a goal (for ourselves) in this stretch, but this is enormous progress. We have it in us to win games 1-0, which we could not do in March.
That’s about all the sunshine-blowing I can muster today. Yes, things look bad, and our remaining schedule is arguably harder than what we have behind us, but it’s not yet time to worry. It’s time to keep doing what we can do, which is screaming our lungs out at every home game, and packing bars for every away game. It’s time to remember the ultimate truth of Portland soccer. You cannot stop us. We can only stop ourselves. RCTID.
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