113 Comments

This was probably asked earlier in the match thread, but I watched the game later on Wednesday. So I am asking: Did the Timbers not bring any cleats or is there another reason they kept losing their footing?

I’m glad Portland won and had some good moments and emergency defending.

Mosquera still refuses to mark players who are ready to get behind him. And his first look after he gets a pass is to go backwards unless he’s almost to the attacking penalty area. If he gets the ball 40 or 45 yards out, he needs to look at options going forward.

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A lot of nervous nellies here. Pantemis between the sticks.

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Really ugly win. I’ll gladly take it though.

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That last missed chance by SJ 😂 dude could have carried that into the net on his chest and we’d have absolutely let him.

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Set piece.. Ball is delivered; opponent up in air; guys in Timbers uniforms ball watch like statues. Good thing the Quakes are not a good team. Bullet dodged.

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Deanna you are correct. Also, the referee didn’t call a foul on SJ In the first half (to be fair the Quakes seemed to avoid making contact in that half), and the ref overlooked several key fouls by SJ in the second half. At least two that would have prevented yellow cards on Portland seconds later.

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We are so lucky San Jose seems to have a serious problem with close-in uncontested chances. But we managed to snatch a win despite all our efforts to give this one away.

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Their inability to finish has been our lifesaver.

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I will happily take the three points but against an even slightly better team, this game is a loss. Three complete sitters missed and a few other decent chances not taken...wow.

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Mora seems off.

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What's the opposite of clinical?

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Inefficient? Inefffective? Wasteful?

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Lucky AF FC

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hahahahahahah good lord again that should have been the equalizer

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You gotta wonder but it is quite a mystery as to how the Timbers gathered together an entire collection of midfielders who can't attack, can't defend, and can't shoot week in and week out.

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In some ways, that's almost impressive, but not in ways that it should be.

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So basically if the ball is on Antony's foot, it's automatically considered a turnover?

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Added to the Laws this year. It'd have been nice if IFAB had given us a heads up.

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Glad to see Santi finally come off. He was getting on my last nerve with all his turnovers.

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Is this the last time we see Asprilla in a Timbers jersey? Or does he even get a farewell match in front of the home crowd? That is, if the rumors about a return to Columbia are true.

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Heard through a sorta knowledgeable insidery source that if it happens it won't be till July. That was last weekend though...

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I read somewhere that the deal fell through, and he will be a Timber until his contract run out at the end of this season.

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Let’s make this as difficult as possible.

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Who do we contact about making sure “win probability” is a stat never referenced again by MLS? Fucking hell, what a stupid ass metric to monitor and talk about.

With a one goal lead and 6 minutes to play the Timbers have a better chance of winning? Well thank god you told me! I never would have sussed that one out.

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I feel like it is bad luck to look at that thing. I do my best to ignore it.

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I’m interested in how you manage to ignore a graphic that they insist cover 60% of the screen. 🤣

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I am on good practice from ignoring spoilers on Season Pass and YouTube

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I would guess that 99% of the fans in every MLS city will agree with you about removing the win probability. The broadcasts also need to get rid of expected goals, too. If Evander takes a free kick from 25 yards and scores the expected goal number needs to be way higher than the 0.04 that it was for his free kick goal a week or two ago). Sure, most people will never make that shot, but Evander can. Same for other top players. And expected goals is a junk stat any way.

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To me, xG is pretty much just another shots on target. I don’t understand the need for both stats.

As the saying goes, there are two types of people in this world. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete data.

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It's so annoying. Gotta be something gambling related...

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It’s not even a sponsored stat. Like, heatmap is fucking stupid too, but Celsius wants their ad share, so I get it. The win probability thing is sponsored by no one, and if it was betting they would be giving us the pay line. Fucking annoying, lol 😂 I’m just here to complain today, lol

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JR should have dummied that. At least, Antony tried it first time. The grass gets slippery in Nor Cal at night. Four Timbers slipping out there.

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Antony leading the team in sky shots....

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Oh Anthony

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Sorry kid but John's done that to many a keeper in LigaMx. Heard Cincy was trying to pawn off their dp striker off some other team. Rando on reddit wondered if the Timbers might need a new 9. No way. We need defense.

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How about a forward better than Antony and Moreno.

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Depening on the system but Antony and Moreno are more winger tpes than forwards. I guess thy could play forward if you need three men up top but even then we still don't need another striker. Now if you want to swap those guys for better wingers - then sure I'm down with it depending on who you're suggesting. Cuase just another cheap brgain from South Amiercan isn't going to cut it. But you have any anmes on offer to the FO?

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I think Moreno can be very effective on quick passes centrally located at the top of the box. Instead, he stays wide and waits for a double team before he passes. His simple inside moves right after he joined the Timbers were really good. And he’s difficult to defend in the penalty area. Antony is really quick and has skills, but he needs to use them more frequently to stay with the team. There are moments where he works really hard and other times where he disappears or just doesn’t make big plays.

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This is why I pay almost no attention to interweb soccer chatter; everyone on Reddit seems to think that "we need defenders" is code for "LET'S GET TWO MORE STUD ATTACKERS BECAUSE THE BEST DEFENSE IS NINE GOALS A GAME" or whatever, which lol nope. Defense should be the priority this summer.

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Yes defense should be the priority this summer, but it's been the priority for 8-9 years and we're still in the same place.

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It's all contingent for me. Unless we move some defenders out, we can't and shouldn't move any more defenders in. We have 1 senior roster spot if we don't move anyone. Even if we sign a DP CB, that isn't going to fix our other problems and probably isn't enough to compensate for them.

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We desperately need FB depth, though. If we're lacking roster spots, the obvious candidate to go would be Mabiala. Loria is about to come back from injury--I'd be happy if we could dump him too.

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Mabiala and Loria are both out of contract at the end of this season. Loria may have an option year but it’s hard to imagine us exercising it unless we know we can sell or trade him. They can’t just “go” while under contract. They have to be sold, traded, or reach an agreement to be mutually terminated. It’s possible one may be waived if the rules are changed, but they might still hit the salary cap.

And we aren’t necessarily desperate for FB depth. The Millers are serviceable there and we have prospects at T2, at least one of whom has already signed a contract that converts to a first team one at some point. If we bring in another fullback, they have to fit a system and our succession planning. Given the youth at T2 and the relative youth of Bravo and Mosquera, that means an established, journeyman, veteran player who would be relatively content with sub or rotation minutes. You know who fits that profile? Eric Miller. If I’m mistaken about the quality of prospects at T2 and/or none are left-footed, maybe a young left back makes sense.

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Great pass, great header, this poor kid's gonna be scarred for life hahaha

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That was totally a Jack Jewsbery cartwheel!

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If I had a dollar for every time this announcer has said "not out of the woods yet", I would be able to pay my mortgage next month already

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I like how he referenced "Ay-shalla", combining both pronounciations into one name.

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I'd have enough to pay for the upcoming bathroom remodel. But he's not totally wrong. Us and any opponent we face are "never out of the woods" in a typical match. Because the oppo is more than likely to score even if we have a 2-0 lead.

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I will never understand Neville's thinking about subs.

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Miller's ok as a depth piece. But I keep thinking he plays way too much for a supposed end of the bench player.

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You and Bravo, apparently

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he did not seem happy did he?

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Bravo not ready to go 90.

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That sentence is two words too long

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Ok Timbers back line you’ve seen that play twice now. Let’s not see it a third time.

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Our noted 2024 defense is starting to show up again.

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Zac looks like he's running on molasses instead of turf.

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Has AppleTV ever predicted the Timbers to win in a match unless they are up by 5?

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Leave it to the Timbers to make the worst team in MLS a challenge....

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Right? But we had an easier time with Vancouver

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Why tf did the AR lift his flag and then put it back down, Timbers players mad at the CR for that

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Oh my how are we not losing now. Round the goalkeeper then miss the net?

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That's two dead easy shots they've missed now. First one turned out to be offside so it wouldn't have counted, but still.

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hahahahahahahaha good lord the Timbers got lucky there and that's why the Quakes are where they are in the table I guess

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Well and the horrendous red card in our first meeting. If not for that we could be in their place in the table.

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The Timbers didn't really do anything wrong defensively there. That was just a spectacular shot by Paul Marie. Full props to him for that.

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Um...we noted that one goal wasn't enough? Yeah, same old story once again.

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I mean, the Timbers have been bad at corners all season, but this wasn't really that. That was just a hell of a strike.

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We go through JDM and Santi’s side so much. I’d like to see more Bravo, Rodriquez combinations. I think JR touched the ball twice.

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Bravo has made several efforts to combine with Jon, but hasn't been able to get around his man

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They haven't played that much together. I'm sure they'll gel over time.

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That’s why I get frustrated with the occasional criticism by people saying Rodriquez needs to get more involved. The attack always seems to come up the right side. What do you want him to do?

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When conditions are right I've seen some killer drives and crosses from JR. He's a beast. Needs to be utilized.

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Ayala is gradually becoming brilliant. He can really get ahold of the ball when he shoots. Another positive aspect to his game.

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Shame we haven't had much of a roster turnover the last few seasons but getting Crepeau/Pantemis was absolutely a brilliant move.

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It's been a while since the least of my concerns about the Timbers has been GK, and it's very refreshing.

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We’re going to need more than one goal to win this game.

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Good thing we’re playing a crappy team

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Unfortunately looking pretty equal so far. Not enough push. Sitting back too much.

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yeah, they're being annoyingly tentative against a really bad defense.

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I’d like to see greater possession once we create a turnover.

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Moreno's decision making at this stage of his career - ugh. Nice athleticism but just gets closed down too much and quickly cause he keeps making poor choices on and off the ball.

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he seems to have totally lost his quality on the ball this season...

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Ayaya is brimming with confidence, but please pass of to a wide open Rodriguez.

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So far some good organization and communication in the back line (please don't be a jinx lol)

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McGraw and Zup work well together

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Glad to see that Evander's hair is transitioning well and still enabling him to score.

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That looked like Valeri vs. Clark!

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The obvious question then is when does he become a Timber?

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Welcome to MLS, kid goalkeeper.

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Yeah but remember Sulte? God, is taht kid ever going to come good? Especially after that disasterous debut?

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Stopped a PK for Indy Eleven last weekend. Kid's 22. I'm not gonna hold my breath but also not *completely* writing him off yet.

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Yeah, I don't follow T2 very close but it seems like Sulte has kinda found his level, given that nobody's seen hide nor hair of him at the big club, nor has he moved somewhere that that might be a possibility.

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he's currently on loan to indy 11 and is their starting keeper.

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well there we go! I do hope he can find a niche somewhere, maybe he'll stick there. I don't want him to be terrible, it just seems like things weren't happening for him here so hopefully he can develop more there.

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Been saying all half, press the rookie keeper! If it weren’t vs the Timbers I’d feel bad for the guy, but oh well

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I just told my wife I'll feel really bad for the kid in about 70 minutes, but for now pour it on

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Evander making someone's first MLS match a nightmare there.

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Rookie mistake

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That is one empty stadium

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Terrible home team, Wednesday night, in a city that doesn't really support its team in the best of seasons; it's unsurprising. It's actually a really nice stadium, though, and its nicest feature is that it's right across from the airport, so one doesn't have to linger in SJ any longer than one must.

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I heard the affiliate team - around Oakland but in a neighboring town/suburb (?) actually has decent attendance. I tuned in to watch a recent match cause it was Sunday and the place looked packed. Guess those guys know how to market. Plus saving money since Quakes - given owner Fisher doesn't care - are sending them players. Hate to say it but relegation might get rid of some owners cause those guys don't want to lose money. So bail when the asset gets depressed.

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You're talking about the USL Championship side Oakland Roots? Their stadium only has 3500 seats but their last games attendance was 3300, packed em in. Good times.

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I do wonder - and I don't actually know, this is just a thought - whether Fisher's nightmarish handling of the A's has tainted any interest that all but the hardest-core Quakes fans had in the team, because they're seeing what he's fully capable of beyond just the standard not-caring he's shown the Quakes so far.

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