Five Things we learned from the Timbers Weekend

By: Bob Kellett | March 31st, 2008

After an offseason spent dreaming about the team and after reading the trickle of information coming out of training camp, we finally had a chance to see the 2008 Portland Timbers in action this past weekend. A 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday was followed up by a 1-0 win over Gonzaga University on Monday. Meaningless games they were in the standings, but games that taught us a few things about what we can expect from this year’s squad.

1. A work in progress - With the luxury of having so many players back from last year it is easy to think that the team will click right away and that it will start where it left off in 2007. That clearly wasn’t the case in the exhibitions. Most of the players are familiar with one another, but that doesn’t mean it won’t take some time for the timing to come together. Throw in some new additions to the lineup and you can see why the play wasn’t stellar on Friday and Sunday.

2. Moving forward at forward - The least productive position for the Timbers last season was forward. Chris Bagley worked hard and was a glue guy, and Bryan Jordan created opportunities with his athleticism, but overall there wasn’t enough scoring from the guys up top. I can’t guarantee that this will change in 2008, but I can tell you that Chris Brown and Takayuki Suzuki are a serious upgrade at the position. Both are smart, experienced players. Will that translate into more productivity at forward? I think it will.

3. Heart and Hustle - While the overall talent level is higher this year than last, this is still a team that is going to have to outwork its opponents. The starting eleven simply isn’t good enough to play half-assed and still roll over their opponents (especially now that California is gone). I particularly see this in the midfield. There are some nice players there, but with the exception of Andrew Gregor most of those players wouldn’t be starting on the other top teams in the league.

4. Square pegs in round holes - In an ideal world Gavin Wilkinson would have a couple of experienced players at each position. In a USL-1 world that rarely exists. The current roster is one that is not balanced. Hence seeing Miguel Guante playing left back. Hence seeing Vardan Adzemian playing right back. If Suzuki is injured, we’re currently left with Bagley and Brown who both are back to the goal target forwards. There’s still time and there are still roster spots open for additional players to address these imbalances, but having players play out of their normal position is something we might see all season.

5. Burse in goal - Regardless of whether or not Ray Burse outperforms Jordan James in the preseason, it is almost a certainty that he will be the starting keeper on April 17. FC Dallas didn’t loan him to the Timbers to have him sit on the bench. That said, James better be ready because Burse can be called back to Dallas at any time…like when their current backup keeper is kicked in the head. Loaned players always make me feel uneasy.

What did you learn from this weekend? Who impressed and who disappointed?

Photo: Allison Andrews/Soccer City USA