For about 20 minutes last Saturday, from the time Freddy Montero’s moment of magic gave Seattle a 1-0 lead, the Portland Timbers were banging and slamming and huffing and puffing, but they could not blow the Seattle Sounders’ defensive wall down. They uncorked shots and won corners, made incisive passes and runs, attacking with zeal, but they didn’t have that x-factor, that crucial ingredient that turns promise into goals. Portland was outplaying Seattle on national TV, outplaying Seattle in the game for the Cascadia Cup, but they were on pace to slink away from Jeld-Wen Field empty-handed. What changed? What brought on the Portland goal and the onslaught of chances at the end of that enthralling derby? Jack Jewsbury started taking corners.
Last year, Jack Jewsbury made himself, along with Futty Danso, folk heroes in Portland soccer circles with their dynamic set-piece play. Jewsbury’s curling crosses, always bending in with pace and accuracy made the Timbers one of the most dangerous dead-ball teams in MLS. That’s why this year, it’s been rather puzzling that the Timbers, first under John Spencer, then Gavin Wilkinson, have done everything they could not to let Captain Jack take corners. First it was Kalif Alhasson on set-piece duty. Then Franck Songo’o. Or Sal Zizzo. For a desperate time, it was Mike Chabala taking corners, Kris Boyd taking free-kicks. No explanation was ever given for Jack’s removal from these important duties, and after a time, we forgot he’d ever been such a prolific catalysts from set-pieces.
The turning point of the game on Saturday was when Sal Zizzo mercifully recused himself from taking corners, blaming an injury on why his crosses barely got to the first defender. There was about 75 minutes on the clock when Jewsbury took his first corner. Three minutes later it was a tie game, and in stoppage time, Jewsbury should have had the game-winning assist off a corner, Bright Dike’s shot hit the post. Jewsbury taking corners, subtly, made the difference in a game hung very evenly and delicately in the balance. It was just another sign of Captain Jack’s importance to the Portland Timbers.
The Timbers acquired Jack Jewsbury from Sporting Kansas City on March 1, 2011 after eight years in Kansas City, and almost immediately upon arrival, was given the captain’s armband. Jewsbury had a sublime beginning to life in Portland, taking penalties and scoring goals in a way he had never done before his career. 2011 was a banner year for Jewsbury, but people who had followed his MLS career knew that his goal scoring exploits were an anomaly, and the insiders weren’t surprised when Jewsbury tailed off sharply at the end of last year, and into the start of this year. As the Timbers season went downhill this year, Jewsbury lost his place in the starting 11, and was made a punching bag for Timbers fans as the epitome of a player who was past his prime, out of his depth on a contender, and holding the club back.
I was one of those people. I thought Jewsbury had lost his effectiveness, his pace, and his ability to affect games from the center of the park. When the skipper was forced into a full-back role by need, he looked like a history teacher performing brain surgery. He had no clue, and the Timbers got hurt. On the Timbers first day of training under Gavin Wilkinson, the new coach told the media he was thinking of replacing Jewsbury as captain. It was a low-blow from Wilkinson, but as Jewsbury was slowly moved more and more onto the bench, Troy Perkins and Diego Chara wearing the armband, some felt Jack’s time in green was coming to an end. What we didn’t understand was that Jewsbury had, for months, been one of the most invaluable players on the field, and in the locker-room for his team.
To understand and appreciate Jack Jewsbury’s game, you need to be grounded, and you need to have patience. What Jewsbury had been doing, and is doing in a more defined role sense he’s stopped scoring goals and the fans have lost interest in him, is linking the game from defense to attack. In his defensive center midfield role, Jewsbury is the key cog in the wheel that turns defensive possession in the Timbers third of the field to attacking possession, sitting between the back-four and the attacking five. Jewsbury’s job as the connecting point is difficult – he has to move the receive the ball from defenders, and pick one of four, five, six options in attack to get the ball to, maintaining possession while not making a lateral pass – a pass that doesn’t give the team a better position to make the next play. Jewsbury’s calm on the ball, and cool ability to pick passes that help the Timbers keep possession under pressure are more important than we can see. In a prolonged attack, Jewsbury should, and often does touch the ball more than any other player, and the Timbers are usually better for it.
In the attacking third, where blood often rushes to the head of less experienced players, Jewsbury is the man sits at the back of the attacking play, seeing the entire field, making himself a consistently open option to pass to. It is amazing how many times Jewsbury makes the right call – putting the ball back into the attacking mixer, or drawing it out and back to the defense to come in another wave – when he does get the ball on offense. Jack is the lynchpin between the two main bodies of players on the field, defenders and attackers, always in neutral, usually the calming presence this young, jumpy bunch need.
While Jewsbury’s role, CDM is vastly underrated in soccer, a lot of players can do the job Jewsbury does, and do it well. What sets Captain Jack apart? His intangibles, starting with his leadership. Jewsbury was handed the armband in Portland because he was the only person remotly qualified for the job, but he has grown into the role quite nicely. Cap’t Jack isn’t a charismatic leader like Steven Gerrard, a braveheart type figure like John Terry, an inspirational leader like Zinedine Zidane used to be, or a fierce and commanding leader like Gigi Buffon. No, Jack’s leadership is more of an everyman’s leadership, and the fact that he’s not better or bigger or braver than most of his teammates helps his standing with the team. There are times when Jewsbury takes it to another level, the game against Sporting Kansas City stood out, but overall people look up to Jewsbury because of his experience, and his general knowledge of how to go about business, how to do things right, day in and day out. That’s why Jewsbury is so calm, so consistant, not brilliant, but always there, that calming, reassuring figure in the center of midfield.
Jewsbury also has another set of traits, much more glorious than the last few we’ve been exploring. Jack Jewsbury has a flair for the dramatic, an it-factor that only a handful of players has. First off, Jewsbury’s set-piece abilities are among the best in MLS. Jack’s ability to hit a ball into the danger area time and time again – with pace – means that a player only has to get to the right spot, and get a head on the ball, the power of the cross with give the header the pace it needs to beat a defense. If no one can get to the ball in the air, the places Jewsbury puts his crosses make it very bothersome for defenses to clear the ball, and chances can arise for the Timbers like that, as we saw with Dike last weekend.
If you haven’t noticed, as well, Jack Jewsbury can hit the soccer ball. His long-range shots at goal, especially on volleys or balls traveling with pace is phenomenal. His wonder-goal against Dallas was just one of many drives that has left the goalkeeper in fits. Jewsbury has also proved adept from the penalty spot, saving the blushes of Kenny Cooper against DC United last year, and on penalty duty every sense. In fact, you must just wonder if it was Jewsbury who stepped up to take the penalty against Cal FC instead of Kris Boyd, if John Spencer would still be managing the Timbers.
You have to love soccer to love Jewsbury. You have to appreciate how hard it can be to move the ball from one phase of the game to another consistently. Really. the goalscoring hero role isn’t cut out for him – he does the work that isn’t glamourous, but the work that allows for the glamour, the assist before the assist before the goal. But on the other hand, Jewsbury is that leader, that big player, who has the killer cross, or the nerve at the spot, or the golaso to get you jumping five feet in the air. Thing is, there was a point this year when Jewsbury was down, when he lost his accuracy from midfield, and he lost his spark, and eventually his place. But being the professional he is, he found form again, and is nicely, quietly (most of the time), having another solid season, just as good as his first. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Gavin Wilkinson pushed himself out of the gutter when he reinstated Captain Jack to his 11. In fact, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Jewsbury is here now, back at the top of his game, just keeping on keeping on. That’s what he is. That’s what he does. Good ‘ol Cap’t Jack just keeps moving this team along.
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