A Familiar Face Returns to the Portland Timbers

By: Bob Kellett | July 14th, 2008

The Portland Timbers have announced that former forward Byron Alvarez will play in Tuesday’s exhibition match against Tigres as a “guest player.” Kind of a nebulous term, but from my perch I interpret this as Alvarez being on trial. Why else would the Timbers, who just acquired a new forward and are in the process of shuffling the chairs on the deck at the forward position, give minutes to a player who they aren’t interested in (and who isn’t on trial with the Sounders) when they could give ~~Jamal~~ Jamil Walker, Benjamin Totori, et al some game action to get to know one another? Sure, he is a fan favorite and a local guy, but this isn’t just about marketing – how many fans will Byron Alvarez really attract to PGE Park? This is about the Timbers’ inability to score goals. It is about seeing whether a guy who spent the winter playing indoors and hasn’t hooked up with an outdoor team can provide a spark for the anemic Portland attack. It is about a coach who sees the ship sinking grasping for a lifeline.

Those of you who have logged a few minutes in the stands at PGE Park will remember Alvarez as a guy who played his first season in Portland without getting paid. He played with hustle and desire and energy and he clearly loved it here. He went on to have a couple of outstanding seasons scoring 12 goals in 2003 and 16 goals in 2004. And then the decline began. By the end of 2006, Alvarez looked slow, frustrated and done. His biggest stat line was his fouls. In other words, he looked like Takayuki Suzuki.

That was two years ago. Who knows how he looks today. Frankly, my expectations are minimal. The forward position has been a trouble spot all season, but that isn’t necessarily just because of the forwards. It is hard to score goals when the midfield and backline can’t maintain possession or connect on passes. It is hard to score goals when the buildup to the attack breaks down before it reaches the forwards. Alvarez isn’t going to change that. This is a safe gamble. If he plays great and sticks, super. If he doesn’t, it was just for marketing shits and giggles.

And it gives Gavin Wilkinson a convenient excuse to give Suzuki a night off, something he should have done the last three exhibition matches.

Attendance watch
Through nine league games the Portland Timbers are averaging 8,053 fans per match. That is up 18% from last year and 30% from 2006. That is amazing.

Half full or Half Empty
The Timbers are six points out of first place.

The Timbers are six points out of last place.