Midseason Report Card: The Coaches, Front Office, and Others

By: Bob Kellett | June 20th, 2008

With the Timbers nearly halfway through their 2008 USL First Division campaign and with the team enjoying a two-week break between games, what better way to pass the time than to hand out some grades? Today’s recipients are the coaches, front office, and all the other interested parties that haven’t been covered on this little ol’ blog this week.

The Coach
Last year Gavin Wilkinson was our savior. This year he is our source of frustration. Was all of his coaching knowledge sucked out of his brain during the offseason or is there something else going on here? Allow me to take a crack at this. In 2007, Wilkinson inherited a franchise that was in disarray and a handful of players who suffered for a year under Chris Agnello. He did what any self-respecting human would do. He brought in a bunch of new players, demanded discipline and hard work from the entire squad, and sang a tune that was so different than the one that Agnello whistled that the players were eager to dance with him even if that meant playing a defensive, unattractive style of play. He also benefited greatly from his team’s ability to beat up on the California Victory and from the crap turf at home. All of this led to a team that got by on hustle and heart – and whose shortcomings were masked by an easy schedule and distinct home field advantage. Coaches will always get credit when they oversee such a dramatic turnaround and when their teams overachieve.

The expectations have been higher this year. Wilkinson realized he needed more talent so he brought in players to raise the squad’s skill level. At the same time, he brought back a ton of those overachieving heart and hustle players hoping that they could still fool everyone into thinking they could play at this level. The result has been a mismatch of talent. Players with skill alongside players getting by on heart (players whose inadequacies are exposed by their own, more talented teammates). Wilkinson’s system has not adjusted to the personnel and the new turf. He’s coaching a 2007 game with a 2008 team – a team who just doesn’t seem as receptive to his message – in a league that has learned all too well how to shut down his system. And as a result we have seen something we overlooked last season: Wilkinson’s difficulty with game management. The boss can only do so much, but it is his job to put his team in a position to win, to make adjustments during games, and to use the personnel he has to his advantage. Halfway through the season, Wilkinson has struggled to do this job.

Grade: C

The General Manager
When the general manager is the coach, he should have a good idea of the areas on his squad that need improvement. To his credit, Wilkinson was able to bring back his defensive nucleus from last year. He also tried to address the shortcomings at forward by bringing in Chris Brown and Takayuki Suzuki. He knew he needed more speed and talent out wide at midfield so he brought in a host of new players. These were all the right moves to make. The problem is that the personnel he brought in have largely been disappointing. Perhaps this is a case of the new players not fitting into the system, the system not adjusting to the new players, or the new players simply not being very good. I don’t know, but on paper the team was upgraded and on the field it has been downgraded. When the general manager is the coach the blame lies with the same guy. He’s the same guy who has built a squad with too many midfielders, not enough depth in the back, and forwards that have no pace. That said, I think Wilkinson the GM was dealt a tough hand when Josh Wicks and Bryan Jordan bolted at the last moment and when Benjamin Totori went down with an injury. The jury is still out on whether the moves he made during the offseason were the right ones, but at this point they aren’t looking too hot.

Grade: C+

Front Office
A nebulous term really, but in this case I look at the marketing, ticket sales, game day experience, community relations, etc. In all cases, I see a franchise that has really turned things around the past year and a half. It is hard to argue with attendance being up 14%. It is hard to argue with a new turf in the stadium (except for those baseball cutouts). It is hard to argue that the team has gotten decent media exposure (relative to previous years), that the owner is committed to winning and running a great franchise, and that a ticket to a Timbers game is one of the great values in town. A possible friendly with Lyon, press releases that actually offer information (except for the names of trialists!), a healthy adult relationship with the Timbers Army…good, good, and good. I could probably find something to bitch about, but having been through multiple, disinterested, poorly run ownerships over the past eight years it is a joy knowing that the people at the helm now largely are doing things in our own best interests.

Grade: A

Mascots
Timber Jim: A
Timber Joey: A-

Timbers Army
Less drama than usual, good relations with the front office, a strong presence during many of the games, still hungry to grow and get better. Most important, good people who make the Timbers game day experience fun.

Grade: A-

Media coverage
Portland Tribune: A. The new blog-like format has provided us with a ton of information that we never got in the past.

The Oregonian: B. Still covers the home games and still provides the occasional feature and still leaves us wanting more.

USL Live: A. Watch some of the broadcasts from the other USL cities and you’ll see that the production and announcing (except when my nasal voice is involved) in Portland is a cut above the rest.

TV: I rarely watch local television so you tell me.

Fan sites, podcasts, and blogs: A. Do you know how fucking lucky you are that people like Allison Andrews, Bruce Eaton, Donald Bramlett, and dozens of other folks spend hours of their free time writing, taking picture and video, and doing audio broadcasts simply because they love the Portland Timbers? You are very fucking lucky. Fan coverage of this level and skill is the exception, not the rule. Next time you see these folks tell them thank you.

Timbers Offside: B. In all honesty, I feel like I started the season strong, tapered off during my wedding period, and have struggled to gain traction since. My upcoming honeymoon is going to take a bite out of the season, but I promise to close out the final third of the season with more typos, grammatical mistakes and random opinions than ever. I’m still having fun doing this. I hope it is fun for you too.