Portland hits the road for the first time in 2024. Can they make it four wins in four visits to Yankee Stadium? Come talk through it in the match thread!
Just so we’re clear: the Timbers are the best team in the league and we’re winning the shield, leagues cup, and MLS cup. That’s the only reasonable conclusion I can draw from this
We have Crépeau, Evander showed up and Cabecita (Thinks Tom Bogert for that tid bit) is on the way. Who knows it might be actually all coming together. 😳. Ned the genius-😂😂. Though in all seriousness, the move that got us Maxime Crépeau was a grand slam. We don’t draw that miserable performance against DC or win this game in New York without him.
Our weakness is this match was our inability to move the ball up field centrally. This is where Williamson’s return to the line up will be a difference maker.
I’ll take it. Thanks for the better 2nd half. The only redeeming quality of the first was we held it to 0-1 (shoulda been 3 or 4 and over). Great goals, now let’s see if Evander can play all 90 rather then rely on miracles at the death.
He had a pretty solid 90 to me (obviously better 2nd 45). He was actually back and present defensively quite a bit. Santi seemed out of position consistently and was really crowding Evander, giving him no outlets when it frequently would have been very beneficial to push the ball up the left wing. Overall a very weak game for Moreno who is usually so impressive. Was very impressed by Parades and Evander’s link up through the middle. Will be interesting to see how and who we start when Eryk is healthy.
I love Williamson, but Evander is better when his head is in the game. And it wasn’t for long stretches today. He was barely involved the first 35 minutes today, found the game only when NYC let up. We are clearly most dangerous with quick first time passes and movement. Long and mid range passes are not good for us. Unless a huge mismatch, dribbling also easy to stop with overloads on defense.
Not good cause I' don't think ourdefensive corps has a freaking clue about pulling it off. We're not talking the Bayern back line, after all. Maybe if you're Philly...
Risky. And a couple weren’t offside, yet were called in our favor. Overall terrible officiating, including the fact that our goal came in the 97’. I'll take it, considering how often we’ve been fucked over by Unkel and Penso. Overall, a weird strategy for how slow our back line is.
suicidal because they're not very good at them yet. If they get good at them, it'll be a really good move, as long as they deploy it tactically and don't rely on it 100% of the time.
I really don't want him to say "how close we are." Reality is, we still need work. Especially on the back line. But yeah, credit to the team for not giving up. And that game winner proves to me that Evander does care. But he wants to win and advance his career, not play on a mediocre to god awful side. We should take the W but I hope we don't have to sit through this one repeatedly this season. Last year was bad enough. I just wanna win or lose playing decently. For a full 90.
Evander needs to realize that if can carry us on his back...teams in the big 5 will come in for him...teams of at least Europa quality that make a deep run. Maybe Phil needs to have a little chat with hhim. Even Ridgy: "wanna play in the Prem...just ask me".
Let's all be real here. The facts are that unless you are lighting up the league (it's a weak league) you aren't going to a top 4 league. So it's in his best interest to do the best he can and hustle his ass off or he won't get what he wants.
Love this comment. What does the guy have to do to impress people? My goodness. He was mesmerizing. I don't think he lost the ball and he puts in a wonderstrike. Celebrate greatness people!
Wth have we been watching for 90+? What a goal by Evander. That's what you want from a DP! He needs to do that stuff consistently week in and week out.
I just want to say that Crepeau really was the move of the season so far. Honestly, just nice to see some stability in the net after the past few seasons.
Antony has had a poor match overall but that goal redeems him. As for Mosquera, he is sorely miscast as a defender. I'm usually not a fan of position changes but he really should be playing further up the pitch.
I think Neville wanted to recreate the CMNT...except he doesn't have David and Davies in the side. And the real heart of that team is their midfield and attack.
He keeps forgetting this is the soccer configuration of Yankee Stadium, sees that super short LF porch (for the non-baseball people, 314 feet to LF is as much of a joke for baseball as this pitch is for soccer) and goes "I can hit a ton of dingers here!" and then pumps the ball into the stands accordingly.
Like, JDM is a pretty solid midfielder, but defensively he’s in no man’s land like 90% of the game. He gets torched pretty much every time an opponent goes to the corner. Offensively he’s one of our more exciting players, honestly, but for all his goal contributions going forward, he negates so many of them on the other end
While I'm glad the defense has improved (somewhat) since the first 20 minute or so which were awful, while possession has been better, this is a perfect example of a team with no forwards on the pitch.
Awful first 35-40 minutes. Then a clear tactical switch from Neville — Moreno and Antony switched sides and Evander dropped in more. Played more through the middle and moved the ball quicker. Helped massively, and anything good in the attack is coming from Evander, we need to get him involved more. Mosquera and the right side of defense was terrible, I’ve never seen McGraw struggle that much in the first 30 minutes. Evander will be on a minutes limitation, I think Zuparic should come on for him and switch to a back 3. Small field, shore up the defense. If we can play how we did in the final 10 minutes of that half we might be ok, but that’s a big if
I still maintain that, as individuals, the Timbers' defenders are good. As a unit, they're terrible. They were terrible under Gio, they're pretty terrible under Phil. That's coaching. I didn't want them to hire Phil, and while I'm not about to condemn him and scream for his firing after 2.5 games, I will say that my fears of what he is capable of as a coach are playing out in real time and I hate to see it.
This game is awful and everything about the team has to start getting better quickly. My one long-term hope is that, the way coaching works now, Phil won't have a six-year leash the way Gio did; he'll get this year and, if things stay this bad, probably part of next and then the coaching carousel will throw him off and we'll move on to the next. We can't go back in time and undo this hiring, so I hope things get better soon, because this is just unpleasant to watch right now.
Depdening on the results this season, NG is on my personal short leash. So is the coaching staff at T2. And then there's the academy. Problem is, the only guy who can make changes is our owner. And he refuses to sell. We really need more money to invest in players. Not just one but multiple. The days of just trading for cheap roster depth and hunting for bargains in Central America (as opposed to Europe) are over. MLS 4.0 is cheap, good, and sellable roster depth with the academy and stars you buy. Timbers MO - outdated - hunting around Concacaf for some undervalued asset somewhere. Or bet on a player like Evander. I don't mind the Evander bet but it was like "one big signing" and squeeze him with a team of mostly waterboys.
I do think Ned did a good job this winter - Crepeau and Miller were very good pickups. But bringing in Neville, who does not have a good track record as coach, to develop a team that badly needs a system coach who can develop a group into a cohesive unit, was a huge error in judgment IMO. I think the Timbers have good pieces to build around, but Phil is not a good builder.
Long way to go this season yet, sure, but if the Timbers manage to miss the playoffs again, it will be interesting to see the club's response personnel-wise, both roster and FO.
But do we really need a system coach? Or just a coach, period? Of course, we're in a salary capped league and have ownership that isn't a sheikh or nfl owner but I'm not sure system coaches aren the best answer going forward. But you're right that Phil isn't a builder but I suspect NG/MP wanted mls coaching experience. They prioritized comfort over ability, imo.
I think we need someone who has a clear idea of what he wants to do, and I don't think Phil is that guy. Maybe "system coach" is the wrong way to put it, but the Timbers could be a good team if a coach with a clear vision came in and imposed that vision. The component parts are there, they just need someone to synthesize them.
I'm not saying this team is worldbeatingly good; I do, however, think it's a more talented team than Phil is capable of making them.
I think we need a coach favors a possession style but is flexible in how he wants to play it. I have no idea who the right guy is but I sure want to know who were the international candidates they interviewed before settling on Phil. It would be interesting to see who tossed their hat into the ring and who they apporached.
I distinctly remember Grabavoy saying how the roster was "adequate". Yeah sure, Ned. "Adequate" if you mean we can start 11 men and still have a bench. Not so if you want to compete for titles. Btw, if you're spending $15 mil you should be able to get a decent no. 9, especially if he's a bit younger at a selling team that does development well. So what's the holdup? Trying to make a big splash like the big boss hinted at? Even so, $15 mil can go a long way. Nobody is talking Lewandowksi, after all.
Kamal has shown me nothing that warrants him starting; and considering we’re talking about starting for the Timbers’ defense… that’s saying quite a lot.
Well, he showed me a lot at Inter Miami last year after Messi came aboard. It might take a bit to get accustomed to a new team. I wouldn't write him off yet.
We're playing with a full eleven alright but the only folks actively involved in the run of play are the four guys in the back + gk...and those 4 guy (and not gk) have been AWOL.
Given his service/touch on about 75% of those set pieces, not sure that is even true. Cue the Evander defenders, but he is clearly approaching this game like a preseason kick around/injury recovery opportunity.
I'd really like us to invest in some good fullbacks who can play DEFENSE. I actually prefer the modern style of fullbacks whho can push forward...but our current fullbacks roster do not fit that description. Heck, we could also use another cb if Phhil wants to play 3 in the back. And while we're spending $15 mil to get a no. 9, any guesses why we're shopping in Mexico only? I just hope we hit the target this time cause I really don't want to see Asprilla play as a single forward for the rest of the season.
Presumably Mora will be back before too long so you won't have to see Asprilla up top the whole season. But Timbers definitely have messed up again going into the season with only one DP. They likely won't get Berterame, and if they do it won't be till summer. Of course Rodriguez is still in play, and they may be shopping elsewhere we don't know about yet. But I'd be willing to bet whoever we get will be too little, too late, or both.
We get J Rodriguez it will be money wasted, imo. He was a good buy several seasons ago. And our track rrecord in Mexico is not good. I'm ok with German but a making a splash, as MP said, is like Lewandowski, Mbappe, Neymar, etc. But yeah, going into the season with only one DP and not getting in the no 9 right at the beginning...big FAIL.
Getting Rodriguez in this window would fall into the "too little" category for me too. The three you mentioned will never come here of course, and I wouldn't want Lewandowski or Neymar at this point anyway.
First goal of the season for nycfc. This teams defense is terrible. Not organized at all. Maybe the nepotism hire of Ridgewell wasn't the best idea. I know everyone will go after me for that statement but I'm not someone who fanboys over former players being coaches just because they played for us. The Timbers defense under Liam had never been good. We need a coach with experience.
100% this. Liam The Folk Hero is a fun story, but I'm not convinced he's a good coach. I have no idea how much influence assistant coaches have, or if each one has their own portfolio, but if he truly is "the" defensive coach? Not good enough, not nearly.
Just so we’re clear: the Timbers are the best team in the league and we’re winning the shield, leagues cup, and MLS cup. That’s the only reasonable conclusion I can draw from this
We have Crépeau, Evander showed up and Cabecita (Thinks Tom Bogert for that tid bit) is on the way. Who knows it might be actually all coming together. 😳. Ned the genius-😂😂. Though in all seriousness, the move that got us Maxime Crépeau was a grand slam. We don’t draw that miserable performance against DC or win this game in New York without him.
Thanks for giving me my best laugh of the week!
Our weakness is this match was our inability to move the ball up field centrally. This is where Williamson’s return to the line up will be a difference maker.
Yep. There was a noticeable difference when Evander dropped deeper, and Moreno and Antony switched sides to play more inverted
It’s so weird that there isn’t a central broadcast/hub. The game is over and there’s literally no post game discussion.
I’ll take it. Thanks for the better 2nd half. The only redeeming quality of the first was we held it to 0-1 (shoulda been 3 or 4 and over). Great goals, now let’s see if Evander can play all 90 rather then rely on miracles at the death.
He had a pretty solid 90 to me (obviously better 2nd 45). He was actually back and present defensively quite a bit. Santi seemed out of position consistently and was really crowding Evander, giving him no outlets when it frequently would have been very beneficial to push the ball up the left wing. Overall a very weak game for Moreno who is usually so impressive. Was very impressed by Parades and Evander’s link up through the middle. Will be interesting to see how and who we start when Eryk is healthy.
I love Williamson, but Evander is better when his head is in the game. And it wasn’t for long stretches today. He was barely involved the first 35 minutes today, found the game only when NYC let up. We are clearly most dangerous with quick first time passes and movement. Long and mid range passes are not good for us. Unless a huge mismatch, dribbling also easy to stop with overloads on defense.
Game finally got good after the Antony goal.
Won’t win many games putting in a first 40 like that. But I’ll enjoy the wackiness and individual brilliance.
How does everyone feel about our offsides traps? Risky or genius?
We got Crepeau, so great idea, especially with small field.
Risky with 2 slow CBs, no recovery option.
Not good cause I' don't think ourdefensive corps has a freaking clue about pulling it off. We're not talking the Bayern back line, after all. Maybe if you're Philly...
If those offside calls hadn't been made we would have been blasted out of the park.
Risky. And a couple weren’t offside, yet were called in our favor. Overall terrible officiating, including the fact that our goal came in the 97’. I'll take it, considering how often we’ve been fucked over by Unkel and Penso. Overall, a weird strategy for how slow our back line is.
Seemed kinda lucky to me.
suicidal because they're not very good at them yet. If they get good at them, it'll be a really good move, as long as they deploy it tactically and don't rely on it 100% of the time.
seemed to work like a charm!
Unf———g real
Now we know that Phil's "system" is apparently Rope-A-Dope
I really don't want him to say "how close we are." Reality is, we still need work. Especially on the back line. But yeah, credit to the team for not giving up. And that game winner proves to me that Evander does care. But he wants to win and advance his career, not play on a mediocre to god awful side. We should take the W but I hope we don't have to sit through this one repeatedly this season. Last year was bad enough. I just wanna win or lose playing decently. For a full 90.
"And that game winner proves to me that Evander does care. But he wants to win and advance his career"
I'm 100% fine with that. He can't do that by being bad for the Timbers, after all.
"We should take the W but I hope we don't have to sit through this one repeatedly this season"
Same. The win doesn't mean I'm happy with the performance, and neither should Phil or the team be.
Evander needs to realize that if can carry us on his back...teams in the big 5 will come in for him...teams of at least Europa quality that make a deep run. Maybe Phil needs to have a little chat with hhim. Even Ridgy: "wanna play in the Prem...just ask me".
Let's all be real here. The facts are that unless you are lighting up the league (it's a weak league) you aren't going to a top 4 league. So it's in his best interest to do the best he can and hustle his ass off or he won't get what he wants.
This is why I love the game.
Wonder how many more times he’ll have to do things like that before people get over the fact that he doesn’t smile enough
BuT He LoOkS LiKE HE DoESnT CArE EnOUgH
Exactly.
You don’t have to sprint all over the place to recover if no one can ever take the ball from your feet.
Love this comment. What does the guy have to do to impress people? My goodness. He was mesmerizing. I don't think he lost the ball and he puts in a wonderstrike. Celebrate greatness people!
That was one hell of a strike no matter what point of the game it was, but as a game winner...wow
He just does it so casually. His quality is off the charts. Give him space within 30 yards of goal and he can literally do whatever he wants
Wth have we been watching for 90+? What a goal by Evander. That's what you want from a DP! He needs to do that stuff consistently week in and week out.
UNREAL
OH MY GODDDDDDD
Wow. I mean wow.
Well that was unexpected. Oh my.
I just want to say that Crepeau really was the move of the season so far. Honestly, just nice to see some stability in the net after the past few seasons.
This is actually the biggest story and improvement in the team so far this year, and nothing even comes remotely close
Antony has had a poor match overall but that goal redeems him. As for Mosquera, he is sorely miscast as a defender. I'm usually not a fan of position changes but he really should be playing further up the pitch.
100% agreement. One of our better midfielders, but defensively I’d rather see Eric covering than Juan
Well how about that? First forty minutes this didn’t look remotely possible.
Scan the stadium for Cleopatra because Antony has entered the building!
That was a very sweet finish by Antony. Our first serious goal scoring chance of the day results in a goal. Quite amazing.
We've officially reached the "hoping for a draw" portion of the game
A draw will flatter us.
I actually think it’s just. Two teams just took turns barely playing.
My point not being that we’re good or played well or anything.
At least nycfc have moved one step closer to a stadium. Otherwise, this game is an insult to supporters on both sides.
I think Neville wanted to recreate the CMNT...except he doesn't have David and Davies in the side. And the real heart of that team is their midfield and attack.
All the problems we saw last season are on display right now in a baseball stadium - just ugly all around.
Antony has had a terrible touch today, on his passes, and his shots too.
He keeps forgetting this is the soccer configuration of Yankee Stadium, sees that super short LF porch (for the non-baseball people, 314 feet to LF is as much of a joke for baseball as this pitch is for soccer) and goes "I can hit a ton of dingers here!" and then pumps the ball into the stands accordingly.
Agreed. The Antony of the opener seems a distant memory.
The Timbers of the opener seem a distant memory, as well
True dat. Playing Colorado does a lot for your self esteem.
Goodness, Zac is being smoked
Because he is slow. People don't watch the games enough. Zuparic saved his a$$ a lot on counters.
It doesn’t help that he’s constantly asked to cover 2, when JDM is 30 yards up the pitch for no reason
Like, JDM is a pretty solid midfielder, but defensively he’s in no man’s land like 90% of the game. He gets torched pretty much every time an opponent goes to the corner. Offensively he’s one of our more exciting players, honestly, but for all his goal contributions going forward, he negates so many of them on the other end
While I'm glad the defense has improved (somewhat) since the first 20 minute or so which were awful, while possession has been better, this is a perfect example of a team with no forwards on the pitch.
Who messed up that Evander corner? The second to last one?
Awful first 35-40 minutes. Then a clear tactical switch from Neville — Moreno and Antony switched sides and Evander dropped in more. Played more through the middle and moved the ball quicker. Helped massively, and anything good in the attack is coming from Evander, we need to get him involved more. Mosquera and the right side of defense was terrible, I’ve never seen McGraw struggle that much in the first 30 minutes. Evander will be on a minutes limitation, I think Zuparic should come on for him and switch to a back 3. Small field, shore up the defense. If we can play how we did in the final 10 minutes of that half we might be ok, but that’s a big if
Looked a lot like 2nd half last week, 2023, 2022….. lots of mental disengagement. Better last 10 min but that was mostly because NYC was resting.
I still maintain that, as individuals, the Timbers' defenders are good. As a unit, they're terrible. They were terrible under Gio, they're pretty terrible under Phil. That's coaching. I didn't want them to hire Phil, and while I'm not about to condemn him and scream for his firing after 2.5 games, I will say that my fears of what he is capable of as a coach are playing out in real time and I hate to see it.
This game is awful and everything about the team has to start getting better quickly. My one long-term hope is that, the way coaching works now, Phil won't have a six-year leash the way Gio did; he'll get this year and, if things stay this bad, probably part of next and then the coaching carousel will throw him off and we'll move on to the next. We can't go back in time and undo this hiring, so I hope things get better soon, because this is just unpleasant to watch right now.
Depdening on the results this season, NG is on my personal short leash. So is the coaching staff at T2. And then there's the academy. Problem is, the only guy who can make changes is our owner. And he refuses to sell. We really need more money to invest in players. Not just one but multiple. The days of just trading for cheap roster depth and hunting for bargains in Central America (as opposed to Europe) are over. MLS 4.0 is cheap, good, and sellable roster depth with the academy and stars you buy. Timbers MO - outdated - hunting around Concacaf for some undervalued asset somewhere. Or bet on a player like Evander. I don't mind the Evander bet but it was like "one big signing" and squeeze him with a team of mostly waterboys.
I do think Ned did a good job this winter - Crepeau and Miller were very good pickups. But bringing in Neville, who does not have a good track record as coach, to develop a team that badly needs a system coach who can develop a group into a cohesive unit, was a huge error in judgment IMO. I think the Timbers have good pieces to build around, but Phil is not a good builder.
Long way to go this season yet, sure, but if the Timbers manage to miss the playoffs again, it will be interesting to see the club's response personnel-wise, both roster and FO.
But do we really need a system coach? Or just a coach, period? Of course, we're in a salary capped league and have ownership that isn't a sheikh or nfl owner but I'm not sure system coaches aren the best answer going forward. But you're right that Phil isn't a builder but I suspect NG/MP wanted mls coaching experience. They prioritized comfort over ability, imo.
I think we need someone who has a clear idea of what he wants to do, and I don't think Phil is that guy. Maybe "system coach" is the wrong way to put it, but the Timbers could be a good team if a coach with a clear vision came in and imposed that vision. The component parts are there, they just need someone to synthesize them.
I'm not saying this team is worldbeatingly good; I do, however, think it's a more talented team than Phil is capable of making them.
I think we need a coach favors a possession style but is flexible in how he wants to play it. I have no idea who the right guy is but I sure want to know who were the international candidates they interviewed before settling on Phil. It would be interesting to see who tossed their hat into the ring and who they apporached.
That half was "Back to the Future", right?!
I distinctly remember Grabavoy saying how the roster was "adequate". Yeah sure, Ned. "Adequate" if you mean we can start 11 men and still have a bench. Not so if you want to compete for titles. Btw, if you're spending $15 mil you should be able to get a decent no. 9, especially if he's a bit younger at a selling team that does development well. So what's the holdup? Trying to make a big splash like the big boss hinted at? Even so, $15 mil can go a long way. Nobody is talking Lewandowksi, after all.
Adequate @#$_&-+((
Only took 40 minutes to remember we’ve ever played soccer before.
The improvement is because NYC stopped pressing for some reason.
Was like taking turns or something. I don’t know why they backed off.
My guess is NY comes out of HT hot.
I'm sorry but Moreno and masquera need to go to the bench until they learn how to defend and hustle
Wow. We suck.
What’s with Zuparic on the bench? Is he injured?
Think it is more the case that Neville prefers Miller/McGraw.
Kamal has shown me nothing that warrants him starting; and considering we’re talking about starting for the Timbers’ defense… that’s saying quite a lot.
Well, he showed me a lot at Inter Miami last year after Messi came aboard. It might take a bit to get accustomed to a new team. I wouldn't write him off yet.
Mcgraw is good but slow. So is Miller. People undervalued zuparic. He should be starting.
This is all really cringeworthy. Are we really playing Manchester City because they are making us look like amateurs.
We're playing with a full eleven alright but the only folks actively involved in the run of play are the four guys in the back + gk...and those 4 guy (and not gk) have been AWOL.
This is excrement
We can't build out from the back..Dairon too well marked for long ball
This happens way too much. Ball skills lacking at too many positions.
Does Evander have a touch yet beyond
the free kick?
Given his service/touch on about 75% of those set pieces, not sure that is even true. Cue the Evander defenders, but he is clearly approaching this game like a preseason kick around/injury recovery opportunity.
PTFJetlag…..
I'd really like us to invest in some good fullbacks who can play DEFENSE. I actually prefer the modern style of fullbacks whho can push forward...but our current fullbacks roster do not fit that description. Heck, we could also use another cb if Phhil wants to play 3 in the back. And while we're spending $15 mil to get a no. 9, any guesses why we're shopping in Mexico only? I just hope we hit the target this time cause I really don't want to see Asprilla play as a single forward for the rest of the season.
Presumably Mora will be back before too long so you won't have to see Asprilla up top the whole season. But Timbers definitely have messed up again going into the season with only one DP. They likely won't get Berterame, and if they do it won't be till summer. Of course Rodriguez is still in play, and they may be shopping elsewhere we don't know about yet. But I'd be willing to bet whoever we get will be too little, too late, or both.
We get J Rodriguez it will be money wasted, imo. He was a good buy several seasons ago. And our track rrecord in Mexico is not good. I'm ok with German but a making a splash, as MP said, is like Lewandowski, Mbappe, Neymar, etc. But yeah, going into the season with only one DP and not getting in the no 9 right at the beginning...big FAIL.
Getting Rodriguez in this window would fall into the "too little" category for me too. The three you mentioned will never come here of course, and I wouldn't want Lewandowski or Neymar at this point anyway.
A team will over pay for Neymar, trust me. It won't be us but given that Apple wants more stars...
Neymar has said he'd like to play with Messi again, so I wouldn't be shocked.
Is your team bad? Ailing? Play the Timbers and you will be restored
Anyone know how long Nevilles contract is for?
Through 2026. But if this continues he won't see the end of 2025.
Well, let's give him his two transfer windows. Plus today.
Too long, for those of us who wanted almost anybody but.
The Timbers defense has looked terrible these first 10 minutes.
First goal of the season for nycfc. This teams defense is terrible. Not organized at all. Maybe the nepotism hire of Ridgewell wasn't the best idea. I know everyone will go after me for that statement but I'm not someone who fanboys over former players being coaches just because they played for us. The Timbers defense under Liam had never been good. We need a coach with experience.
100% this. Liam The Folk Hero is a fun story, but I'm not convinced he's a good coach. I have no idea how much influence assistant coaches have, or if each one has their own portfolio, but if he truly is "the" defensive coach? Not good enough, not nearly.
Did we just go back in time a year?
It's more like they haven't progressed since 2022