One of the main storylines of the 2012 MLS season was the disappointing play of the Portland Timbers. Having narrowly missed the playoffs in their inaugural MLS season the year before, expectations were high for this team heading into 2012. But, a slow start to the 2012 season, coupled with an embarrassing loss to Cal FC (yes, that Cal FC of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association) in the U.S. Open Cup, cost head coach John Spencer his job in early July. The second half of the season under GM and interim coach Gavin Wilkinson was almost a carbon copy of the first half. Portland finished near the bottom of the table in 8th place in the Western Conference – only four points clear of last-place Chivas USA. It was clear that changes needed to be made.
The Man at the Top
By any measure, Caleb Porter had a phenomenal coaching career at Akron University. The Zips won the Mid-American Conference under Porter every year he was there, from 2006 to 2012. In 2009, his team went 23-0-2, but lost in the NCAA championship to the University of Virginia on penalty kicks. The Zips were not down for long, though, as they bounced back in 2010 and beat Louisville 1-0 to win the title.
Perhaps the only blemish on Porter’s resume is the failure of the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Despite a 2-0 loss to Canada in group play, qualification seemed all but certain for the U.S. squad until Jaime Morales scored the equalizer for El Salvador four minutes into stoppage time. The resulting 3-3 draw with El Salvador ended the Olympic dreams for the U.S.
It will be interesting to see if Porter can translate his success at the college level to MLS. Porter likes to dominate possession and methodically work the ball up the field with quality passing and well-timed runs.This is in sharp contrast to John Spencer’s coaching philosophy, which was to play very direct and attack the goal at every opportunity. Unfortunately, when your team plays direct and lacks the killer instinct around the goal (evidenced by the paltry 1 goal-per-game average the Timbers put up last year), you leave yourself open to counter-attacks by the opposition and more opportunities to get beat. At first glance, it would appear the Timbers are a better fit for Porter’s style of play.
Who’s In
The Timbers have been busy wheeling and dealing this offseason. They began the offseason by acquiring a couple of veterans: midfielder Will Johnson from Real Salt Lake and defender Michael Harrington from Sporting Kansas City. Johnson is a workhorse at midfield and is a good distributor of the ball so he should fit in well with the new offense. He is not a major scoring threat although he did tally a career-high three goals last year (two of which came against Chivas USA, for whatever that is worth). Harrington had been relegated to a reserve role in Kansas City the last couple of seasons, but filled in nicely at left back when called upon.
Just a little over week later, Portland acquired a pair of Toronto FC players: forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Milos Kocic. Having scored seven goals last year for Toronto, Johnson is a very good addition at forward, seeing as how the Timbers were second to last in scoring in 2012 (finishing ahead of, you guessed it, Chivas USA). In Porter’s 4-3-3 formation, a Kris Boyd-Ryan Johnson-Darlington Nagbe front line could be a formidable one. Milos Kocic started 27 games last year for Toronto following an injury to Stefan Frei. Kocic recorded three shutouts and had a 1.74 Goals Against Average. The 27-year old Serb will battle the 35-year old incumbent, Donovan Ricketts, who posted five shutouts and a 1.61 Goals Against Average, for the starting job. That will be one of the more interesting position battles to keep an eye on in the preseason.
On December 18, the Timbers acquired defender/midfielder Mobi Fehr in the MLS weighted lottery. The Timbers had close to an 83% chance of winning the lottery (as compared to Seattle’s 16% and San Jose’s 1% chance) so the result did not come as a huge surprise to Timbers’ fans. I would not expect the 18-year old to make a big impact in MLS in 2013, but he is a very good prospect to have and develop for down the road. Fehr spent time with the U.S. Under-17, Under-18 and Under-20 National Teams throughout 2011 and 2012.
Who’s Out
Perhaps the biggest name not on the Timbers’ roster is one that has never played for the squad. Talks seemed to be heating up in recent weeks between the Timbers and midfielder Mikkel “Mix” Diskerud about a potential move to Portland. The 22-year old Diskerud is currently playing professionally for Rosenborg in Norway and spent time on the U.S. Under-23 National Team, coached by Caleb Porter. In an ironic twist, the aforementioned Jaime Morales of El Salvador, whose goal kept the U.S. from qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics, is teammates with Diskerud at Rosenborg. In the end, Diskerud decided to return to the Norwegian club and continue his playing career abroad.
As far as players that actually did play for Portland last year that are no longer in the squad, the biggest name is probably Eric Brunner. The defender was traded to Houston in early December for allocation money. Brunner suffered through an injury-plagued season in 2012, scoring once. With a plethora of young defenders on the team, the move will surely not come as a shock to most Portland supporters. The Timbers also shipped defender Kosuke Kimura, along with the Timbers’ second round MLS SuperDraft pick, to New York for allocation money.
So…What To Expect in 2013?
That is the big question. Any time there is a change in manager, especially when the new manager has a different coaching philosophy than the previous one, it will take time and the right type of players in order to fully implement the system. Does Portland have the players to effectively run Porter’s 4-3-3, possession-dominated style? I’m not sure. But I do think they are better equipped for that style than John Spencer’s run-and-gun offense that often left their defense vulnerable. They have brought in solid, proven MLS veterans that can bring the youngsters along while contributing themselves. Finally, it goes without saying that JELD-WEN field will be one of, if not the toughest places to play, in MLS with the team already having sold out their entire home schedule for 2013. If they can regain their 2011 home form and improve their performance on the road, there is no reason they could not be at least the fifth best team in the Western Conference and reach the playoffs.
(image courtesy of AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
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