Carolina on the Mind

By: Bob Kellett | April 28th, 2009

The Portland Timbers (0-1-0, 0pts) will face the Carolina RailHawks (3-0-0, 9pts) not once, but twice this week. Twice in a matter of 48 hours. Is anyone really going to miss USL scheduling come 2011? Playing two games in a row against the same team offers some interesting challenges. It also is how the league structures its playoffs so if nothing else it can prepare the players for September (hopefully) in April.

Some things I will be paying attention to while spending 180 minutes praising the lord my team does not go by the name ‘RailHawks’.

1. Portland’s backline in the box – Was their feebleness in the air against Vancouver an aberration or is this a problem area as we move forward with the season?

2. The Starting XI – Will there be any changes from the squad we saw on Saturday? My instinct is that they’ll be a few changes, but nothing major. The weakest player on the pitch, in my humble opinion, was Stephen Keel. Does Gavin Wilkinson agree with this assessment and start Cameron Dunn or Mamadou Danso? Does he shake the forwards up a bit?

3. The Finisher – The Timbers did a pretty good job creating goal scoring opportunities in the opener. The finishing, however, was lacking. It is still too early to say anything definitive, but my gut tells me that Mandjou Keita is the key. We know that Takayuki Suzuki is not going to score many goals. He could be the guy who sets up goals, but that requires a cold-hearted goal scorer as a partner. If Keita isn’t that guy? Is there anyone on the roster who is?

4. The Bench – Two games in three nights. Two teams that will grow sick of one another quickly. Chippy play. How does Wilkinson best utilize his bench?

5. The Fouls – Speaking of chippy play, the Timbers only committed 12 fouls against Vancouver. The Whitecaps were whistled 26 times. How many times has that happened during the Wilkinson era? Probably never. Is this year’s team less physical or is it just the case of Tommy Poltl and Sean Higgins not even being in the same country as the team during the match?

6. The Crowd – MLS, Funding, Paulson, blah, blah, blah. This has been an odd offseason full of more news than usual. Most of it has had nothing to do with this year’s club. Will this impact the attendance? Will playing two games against the same team in two nights make a difference? Will cheap beer on Thursday outdraw a more family accessible weekend night? Will you be there (rhetorical question)?

Here’s the season opening attendance numbers over the years.

2008, Thursday, 10,977
2007, Saturday, 7,805
2006, Friday, 5,448
2005, Saturday, 5,275
2004, Saturday, 6,891
2003, Thursday, 5,993
2002, Saturday, 8,775
2001, Friday, 12,295

What will you be keeping an eye on?