Three days after a bruising loss in Minnesota, the Timbers go again. For the second time, they play in Colorado on a holiday (it’s weird that this happened twice, right?). Come chat (or commiserate) about it in the thread.
WHO: Portland Timbers @ Minnesota United FC
WHAT: MLS Matchday 23
WHERE: Dicks’ Sporting Goods Park | Commerce City, CO
According to my quick research this is the fourth Timbers MLS match that was postponed/rescheduled, the last being this year's opener which got moved two days later because of snow.
But this is the first time (as far as I can tell) that a match has been abandoned after play had started. I assume they are going to continue play at halftime at some point but not even sure that has been determined yet.
"Regular Season Restart of a Postponed Match After Kickoff
The recommenced match must restart on the same spot where the postponed match action occurred (i.e., free-kick, throw-in, goal kick, corner kick, penalty, etc.). If the match was stopped during the normal flow of the game, a dropped ball on the spot where it was postponed shall be used to restart.
Players
The match shall recommence with the same players on the field and substitutes available as when the match was initially postponed. For example, if a player receives a red card and reduces his club to 10 players on the field before the match is postponed, his club cannot replace him and will resume the postponed match with 10 players.
The club’s Official Match Rosters are frozen on the match recommencement day, subject to the exceptions below.
No additional substitutes may be added to the list of players on the Official Match Roster.
The teams can only make substitutions to which they were still entitled when the match was postponed (except as provided below and in the case of a subsequent injury and/or unavailability)."
I wonder what they do in these situations. It's a big cost to fly the team and staff back out to Colorado for a half. I wonder if they will just call it a tie.
I would imagine it will depend on whether there are playoff implications or not. As of right now, three points would put Portland in a points tie for the last playoff spot, albeit with a vastly inferior GD (4 for VAN, -8 for POR).
... then comes Saturday, with the possibility of getting dropped back down the table again. Also I note that Galaxy beat LAFC and now have 19 points plus two more games to play than PTFC... things might get rough. Those three points would help a lot.
No linkup btw midfield and strikers..no ability to hold possession in the midfield..pretty simple..if Paulson is still in the country, seems time to do something..we need ideas and some ass-kicking
yeah, because every single game in every league across all of Europe is a delightful display of fluid, attacking offensive prowess featuring goals aplenty and lots of stylish play. No game in Europe is ever a 0-0 slog, in any league, ever, at any time. There has never been a boring 0-0 game in the nearly 150 year history of soccer across Europe! Ever! Not a one!
/sigh
It's 2023. Don't listen to those people, any more than you listen to people who are still arguing whether it should be called football or soccer.
I just always hate the default "euro snob" position of "MLS SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S NOT REAL MADRID". Every league has games like this one, but the way some of the more hardcore euro snobs see it, MLS is the only league in the world with bad games between bad teams.
I've been watching MLS on and off since about 2002 and while criticisms of the level of play were absolutely valid then, they're not now, and it's just the muscle memory of people reflexively dunking on MLS for no reason other than what it's not (not that you were doing that, but that's the sentiment you echoed) that bugs me.
And it's fine to laugh at the league. I doubt many Eurosnobs were getting up early to watch Pulis ball at West Brom. There;s dire soccer everywhere in the worl but I do think those guys who got into it through watch the Prem are a particular self-absorbed breed. Glory hunters isn't a term invented to pay a compliment.
I'm not able to watch the match but the teams look evenly matched on paper, with Colorado doing a little better. Google gives Colorado a 49% chance of winning, 29% draw, PTFC 22% win.
It was nearly all outside the box. Perhaps the final grab inside. Probably why it wasn’t VAR’d, because you can’t just call the 4-5th foul and ignore the first 3-4.
Good point. But it was still definitely an obvious foul the referee chose not to call, and probably should have been a free kick from a risky spot and a yellow card at least.
Agreed. He played advantage and Yapi got a shot off. You don’t give double jeopardy (shot misses, then foul). That said, I have long believed that unless the advantage is incredibly clear (like defender on ground, in behind 1 v. Keeper) that there is more advantage to a free kick from 19-20 yards than a contested off balance shot. To do that though, there was going to have to be an early whistle.
Nathan looking decent on the wing but is is the Rapids. I do wonder if he could transition to the midfield. Maybe next season? Especially if we can get new strikers along with Boli?
That looked like a really bad tackle on Nathan there from Abubakar. How that isn’t a yellow I’ll never know, seemed like it could’ve been a red if it had more force
I know the Rapids have a game on Saturday, but since the Timbers don't play again until the 15th, would it be the worst thing for either team to postpone this game until tomorrow? Just looking at my wife's Twitter feed and the weather looks pretty dire in CC right now.
yeah, Elon's latest 3D chess moves at twitter mean I can't see those without an account. I saw pics on my wife's phone of rain blowing sideways so hard it looked like a blizzard, and Blanco and the team taking video of how hard it's raining, though.
Yeah.... definitely shouldn't talk about those types of things in here. Keep it soccer related. Which I try to do. You definitely won't like my opinions on your comment.
Not to turn this into any sort of political/social media rant, but I walked away from almost all social media (I still have instagram, which I look at like every 2-3 days at the most) in about 2019, and my life has been the better for it.
I'm not one to tell people what they should or shouldn't do, so if you (the collective you) still enjoy social media, go for it, but I will say that for me, my head is much more peaceful since I stopped caring about/investing in who today's twitter main character is. And after about two weeks, I stopped worrying if I was missing something.
I use Twitter quite a bit...but in a pretty narrow, restricted manner. I don't do socio-political stuff there: it's 99% connecting with Japanese music scene friends* and footy.
* Like 60% or so of everything on my feed is in Japanese. Great way to work on my (still crap) Japanese language skills. ;)
Deleted Twitter when Elon bought it. Hated it for a long time before that. Still look at Facebook on Saturday AMs or if on vacation, but nearly all my friends never post anything anymore, essentially 95% ads. I should delete that too.
I went off Twitter when Musk bought it, but then reinstalled it during a Timbers game to get the starting XI and follow some commentary
But then when both Elon Musk and Alexi Lalas used Twitter as a platform to support Ron DeSantis, I deleted Twitter and unsubscribed from Lalas podcast. Had to.
My wife still has a FB account, because a couple of her friends live overseas and only use FB to communicate with their friends in the States, but otherwise her experience is the same as yours - it's all ads at this point from the sounds of it.
Thunderstorms in CO don't really last more than a few hours (these are forecast to pass by 10PM mountain time tonight), and since there isn't any thunder in the forecast tomorrow I would assume they could get a game in. The pitch might still be a bit soaked but it should definitely be playable.
Lol, are you trying to will us new ownership? But okay, here's my piece and YMMV:
Year One: Clean house in the FO and on the coaching staff. Do extensive global search and budget for major improvement in the academy. Also hire analytics staff since we apparently don't have any. Consider having a Technical Director as well as GM. Also work at repairing replationship with the fanbase. Also look at training staff and figure hy all those injuries; hire new staff if necessary.
Year Two: Seriously look at going to grass but hire experts and form a committee to investiage the possibility. Also look at hybrid turf. Promise fans that all findings will be public and emphasize that we're not moving from PP so if turf is in the foreseeable future, then at least we've a full investiation of all alternatives.
Year Five: Fullly functioning academy, hopefully. Do we need academy residency/dorms? Also review the playing side - how are we doing on the pitch? Adjust and review budget if necessary if we need better dp's. Also review how we're doing on attendance and season tickets. Can we impvoe profits by making changes to the fan experience - better and cheaper food, etc?
Year Ten: If we have grass pitch, purse national team friendly/qualifiers. Pursue Copa America if held in US. Pursue any Mexico matches (ugh) since they play anyway in the usa and their fans will travel. Also review if we've won any silverware lately and make adjustments to reach that goal.
So I included year two, lol. This was a great question - pretty clear the Timbers need a major makeover.
Grass has already been thoroughly experti and committee-ified. They know what they need to do to make it happen. They just need to spend the money. The last official obstacle was finding another place for Thorns to practice, presumably currently held up by the supposed sale.
I'm with you on investing in the academy, especially as we move away from having catchment areas and can bring in players from around the globe instead of being geographically restricted. The lack of investment in the past had at least a bit to do with demographics. Even though we have access to some other states to draw players from, we still don't have populations like LA, Dallas, Houston, NYC, or even Philly.
As I understand it, the lack of turf has been one of the main obstacles to hosting international matches.
I believe there were/are even some contingencies for further expansion which were initially predicated upon the US hosting the World Cup but probably got delayed because of COVID19 and our FO BS.
South American is fine; Germany and perhaps France also. Not sure about Spain since salary cap needs to go up plus Spanish players can go play in top 5 easily enough. I think that giiven our player history - Blanco, Chara, Valeri - makes sense to go Argentinian or Brazilian.
Gm from somewhere in the bvb system. Coach from the Ajax system, with a hybrid bvb/Ajax style.
Gm from bvb because they have the best talent identification and scouting in the world. A gm with an understanding of thatbstructure could come in and implement a foundation for success and growth.
Ajax system and coach because they have one of the most beautiful systems in the world. They see the game in the way I love to watch. Constantly moving into patterns and creating opportunities with a quasi tiki-taka identity.
Dutch style is fine - I'm a fan. But have to be careful because look at Cincy. In particular, the Dutch style really depends on high soccer iq, etc. Any owner would need to pony up for the academy training first of all - an expensie in itself. And might even need to spend more than $ mil annually - at least that's the amount Philly suppposedly spends. Me? I'd green light Clockowrk Orange. But some owners will balk.
Academy definitely would come into play and that's why I would want someone from bvb. Someone who has global connections and someone that understands how they view talent and find it. All for the purpose of building a powerhouse pipeline of players through the academy. Instead of always looking to buy players and get lucky.
Since we are a "small market" (how big is Ajax again and how global is their brand. Market size is a cop-out) we need to focus heavily on our academy to maintain a competitive team over the next 20-30 years. We will never be first choice for top talent like a messi, Ronaldo, Kane, halland. We will never get that kind of talent in Portland. But we could be the first choice for those players in the formative years of their careers. Be a stepping stone to better things for them, while making a profit and brand. That's our future and if we don't go that way we will be the Everton of mls.
Absolutely agree. One nightmare I have is even if MP sells, any new owner could be worse. And he/she might not give any more crap about an academy. Surely there's an owner who can see the rewards - monetarily - of having an academy and churning out talent. In time, it could pay for itself. No offense to SKC but if I'm a young player I';d prefer Protalnd rather than Kansas city.
Mind you, the Dutch league as a whole runs on budget (except perhaps Ajax and even their finances pale cmpared to a team like Everton) because of the well established player development methodology and academies. If I'm a Dutch sproting director/coach, etc and going to MLS I would demand a well funcition academy and not just the bare minimum. When Gio got hired, GW said there was plenty of interest. Wonder if any DUtch guys applied. Maybe MP/GW knew that given their lack of effort with the acacemy that a candidate from Ajax, Feyerboord, PSV , etc. would back out or lost finerest?
Assuming this happens within the next few months, or at the end of this season:
1 year: significantly enhance the size, scope, and budget of the scouting/analytics staff (ongoing). Evaluate and improve the training/fitness/medical staff (also ongoing). Institute two year freeze on ticket price increases, and implement value menus at PP similar to what they do in Atlanta - good food and good beer at real-world prices, not just $1.25 hot dogs or whatever.
5 years: Spend time figuring out the best way to build a youth pipeline for the Timbers, whatever that looks like. Whether that's leveraging the existing system the way the Timbers tried to years ago, creating a new one, or something in between, the goal should be building a reliable pipeline into Timbers academy teams.
10 years: Nothing absolutely concrete, but the goal by year 10 should be to have the Timbers exist in the upper echelon of the league, and consistently be in the hunt for the Supporters' Shield and a reasonably strong playoff team. Take these 10 years to build a culture that demands success, and that success will start to build and feed upon itself.
I wonder, do the fans have the patience for your ownership? I think most want to be in the upper echelon now (realistic or not). I like your emphasis on scouting and development. I didn't see any remarks on coaching staff, happy there? Thanks!
I am not happy with the coaching or the roster at this point, but I was focusing on more big-picture infrastructure stuff and didn't get bogged down in the shortest-of-short term things like "get this player" or "get this coach".
If I own the team as of next week, my first act is to fire Gio, unquestionably. Then all that other stuff.
The patience will come when every move I outlined above is communicated clearly as time goes on. There are no shortcuts from here; the Timbers are a mess right now and it's gonna take some time to fix. Freezing in-stadium prices will help buy some short-term goodwill.
This is likely a long delay, judging by the radar. Probably after 8-8:30. The game to watch is LAFC vs. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. 90,000 tickets sold. Starts at 7:30.
We were just in LA last week and stopped by the Rose Bowl on Saturday. I saw the banners up and didn’t think too much of it but, apparently, this is the game they were touting.
Also, I’m pretty amazed that they can fit 90,000 in that area. The stadium is huge but it’s essentially in a city park with tennis courts, and aquatic center, etc., and it’s just north of and down the hill from downtown Pasadena, in sort of a historic neighborhood. It’d be as if they put a huge stadium near like Grant HS in Portland.
Yeah, there was a long delay several weeks ago. Weird that they apparently don’t have the technology to show another game, then cut out when the correct one starts or at least show highlights.
They almost certainly have the technology. But the production of games according to this deal is on the MLS side of the house; Apple just provided the money, the platform, and the infrastructure. So if you can't easily switch over to another game without exiting the feed you chose, that's an MLS decision, not an Apple one.
Not even remotely. They got free ad space on every MLS kit, both worn and sold, not to mention ad space and mentions in stadium during games. they get subscription fees for everyone who pays for the MLS package, and they get innumerable mentions as the place where MLS lives.
And they got that while offloading literally 100% of the production cost of the product on their channel to the entity providing that product. That's an absolute steal from Apple's POV; they get all the benefits, and they pushed most of the costs (I think Apple also upgraded cameras/remote broadcast trucks etc) to MLS.
Yeah... But it left MLS, which is notorious for being bad at creating a product, to create the product. And ultimately better product means more eyeballs...
Exactly this, Apple is a leader in technology, even ballsy enough to try and sell me a $3500 ski goggle with a screen, but they haven’t figured out how to deal with a delayed game. I don’t expect the Dallas/DC announcers to cut in and tell all the Timbers fans “hey your game is on change the channel” so I could be stuck watching these fools while the game I want to watch is actually on.
There are two guys in this lineup who haven't had significant time. 2. The rest have been here and played together, or are veterans. We should look like we know what we're doing. We'll see. But I expect the excuse to be Gio is dealing with too many injuries etc.
Also, I'm troubled by the possibility that Gio isn't getting along with Evander, Moreno, and Jazzy, possibly sitting two or three of them because of it.
You have to wonder about Evander...he didn't come here for this. Not after playing in Europa League. Don't know about Moreno and Jazzy. I do suspect that Gio has lost the locker room. Just look at how this team plays on the regular every week. They're always flat and liefeless practially every match.
I would imagine that Evander went into this clear-eyed. He was probably made aware by his agent that this year would be a step back, but that this move wasn't just about this year.
Just saw the lineup. Gio waved the white flag, full stop. Maybe he really wants to get fired. We can oly hope. I also saw Yapi starting for the Rpaids; where's our young player? Oh wait..we don't have any.
We're having Emotional Support hot dogs along with Emotional Support hambugers tonight. And since I have some extra ale in the firdige, I suspect a bottle's about to be uncapped.
Weird ass lineup. To me it looks like a 4-3-3 with Nathan on the wing and a midfield of Paredes, Griffith, and Chara, but I don’t know. Bingham over Ivacic is weird. Glad Miller is starting at CB though
Why does Bingham need to play? You don't trot out your second string fk if your regular starter is healthy and you need points. Also in what universe is Loria a forward?? We also have barely any creativity in the middle without Evander. If Boli thinks he gest no service, well now..
In a universe where this already bare bones lineup is hit by injuries and callups, and in a world where the manager of said bag of bare bones is probably desperately trying anything in order to force a shakeup.
I actually like Bingham over Ivacic. Ivacic makes things tougher on the back line by his style. Given how the Timbers want to play Bingham is better. That said the way our defense has been doesn’t really matter.
I think this is the first timbers game postponed in the mls Era. Can anyone confirm?
I've been to at least one game that was postponed due to heat on the pitch.
According to my quick research this is the fourth Timbers MLS match that was postponed/rescheduled, the last being this year's opener which got moved two days later because of snow.
But this is the first time (as far as I can tell) that a match has been abandoned after play had started. I assume they are going to continue play at halftime at some point but not even sure that has been determined yet.
From the MLS website:
"Regular Season Restart of a Postponed Match After Kickoff
The recommenced match must restart on the same spot where the postponed match action occurred (i.e., free-kick, throw-in, goal kick, corner kick, penalty, etc.). If the match was stopped during the normal flow of the game, a dropped ball on the spot where it was postponed shall be used to restart.
Players
The match shall recommence with the same players on the field and substitutes available as when the match was initially postponed. For example, if a player receives a red card and reduces his club to 10 players on the field before the match is postponed, his club cannot replace him and will resume the postponed match with 10 players.
The club’s Official Match Rosters are frozen on the match recommencement day, subject to the exceptions below.
No additional substitutes may be added to the list of players on the Official Match Roster.
The teams can only make substitutions to which they were still entitled when the match was postponed (except as provided below and in the case of a subsequent injury and/or unavailability)."
more at: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2022-mls-match-delay-postponement-cancellation-and-forfeiture-policy
I wonder what they do in these situations. It's a big cost to fly the team and staff back out to Colorado for a half. I wonder if they will just call it a tie.
I would imagine it will depend on whether there are playoff implications or not. As of right now, three points would put Portland in a points tie for the last playoff spot, albeit with a vastly inferior GD (4 for VAN, -8 for POR).
... then comes Saturday, with the possibility of getting dropped back down the table again. Also I note that Galaxy beat LAFC and now have 19 points plus two more games to play than PTFC... things might get rough. Those three points would help a lot.
Postponed
Match postponed, about time... not like they could’ve said that an hour ago or anything
Our long nightmare is over! Officially postponed.
Now we have time to get pumped up for Part 2!!
So when do they pull the plug ?
Throw the towel Roc!
It is getting awfully late
Radar indicates storms gone close to 1 a.m. Mountain Time.
No linkup btw midfield and strikers..no ability to hold possession in the midfield..pretty simple..if Paulson is still in the country, seems time to do something..we need ideas and some ass-kicking
Woah - o - ooh, woah - o - oh -- endless loop of inanity. A lot like PTFC’s offensive “system”.
Onward Rose City
Another weather day, that’s just hilarious. Man that first half was just... rough for both teams
Is this really another weather delay?
LOL
This is the exact type of game euro snobs point to when they laugh at MLS. Ugh.
yeah, because every single game in every league across all of Europe is a delightful display of fluid, attacking offensive prowess featuring goals aplenty and lots of stylish play. No game in Europe is ever a 0-0 slog, in any league, ever, at any time. There has never been a boring 0-0 game in the nearly 150 year history of soccer across Europe! Ever! Not a one!
/sigh
It's 2023. Don't listen to those people, any more than you listen to people who are still arguing whether it should be called football or soccer.
Don't take my comment so seriously. I don't listen to them, nor do I care. It was mainly a joke at the play.
I just always hate the default "euro snob" position of "MLS SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S NOT REAL MADRID". Every league has games like this one, but the way some of the more hardcore euro snobs see it, MLS is the only league in the world with bad games between bad teams.
I've been watching MLS on and off since about 2002 and while criticisms of the level of play were absolutely valid then, they're not now, and it's just the muscle memory of people reflexively dunking on MLS for no reason other than what it's not (not that you were doing that, but that's the sentiment you echoed) that bugs me.
And it's fine to laugh at the league. I doubt many Eurosnobs were getting up early to watch Pulis ball at West Brom. There;s dire soccer everywhere in the worl but I do think those guys who got into it through watch the Prem are a particular self-absorbed breed. Glory hunters isn't a term invented to pay a compliment.
As a Stoke fan, there's nothing wrong with Pulis ball on a nice rainy night. West Brom was rough though.
Stoke? Oh god, you have my sympathies. But I'm an Everton fan so I understand.
Eurosnobs don’t watch the bottom table matchups either.
I'm just that kind of snob but I love a trainwreck
I'm not able to watch the match but the teams look evenly matched on paper, with Colorado doing a little better. Google gives Colorado a 49% chance of winning, 29% draw, PTFC 22% win.
shots: CR 4 , PT 3
on target: CR 1, PT 1
possession: CR 55% , PT 45%
passes: CR 220 , PT 196
pass accuracy: CR 79% , PT 72%
fouls: CR 6, PT 4
0.09 expected goals they report to 0.51 for Colorado. Sounds about right
Seems high...hahaha
.09 to .51?! cream of the crop we got here!
That should have been called a Colorado penalty kick.
It was nearly all outside the box. Perhaps the final grab inside. Probably why it wasn’t VAR’d, because you can’t just call the 4-5th foul and ignore the first 3-4.
Good point. But it was still definitely an obvious foul the referee chose not to call, and probably should have been a free kick from a risky spot and a yellow card at least.
Agreed. He played advantage and Yapi got a shot off. You don’t give double jeopardy (shot misses, then foul). That said, I have long believed that unless the advantage is incredibly clear (like defender on ground, in behind 1 v. Keeper) that there is more advantage to a free kick from 19-20 yards than a contested off balance shot. To do that though, there was going to have to be an early whistle.
Yeah, that was a missed call...we got lucky.
Yep
Nathan looking decent on the wing but is is the Rapids. I do wonder if he could transition to the midfield. Maybe next season? Especially if we can get new strikers along with Boli?
Nathan playing really well on the wing
He’s strong and direct.
When it comes to soccer - especially shot selection - Loria has the brain of a goldfish.
He always leans back on shots, sailing the ball.
It's not that all of his shots are ill-advised, it's that they're always right at the keeper on the few occasions they're not way over the crossbar.
I don't mind ill-advised shots, but I do mind wildly misplaced passes under no pressure and corners that don't clear the 1st defender..
Loria misses!
I nearly died of shock!
These are definitely two of the worst teams in the league, but why does it feel like Colorado will probably score and come away with 3 points here.
Haven't watched the last two weeks. I forgot just how bad they are.
You might have seen the Timbers play before
Yeah, this game is wide open. And not in a good way. Pretty clear both us and the Rapids love giving the opposition plenty of space to run.
I wonder if Colorado has a game plan of letting visitors have space to run a bunch in the first half to let the altitude do it’s thing?
That looked like a really bad tackle on Nathan there from Abubakar. How that isn’t a yellow I’ll never know, seemed like it could’ve been a red if it had more force
Paredes has been weirdly absent so far, this seems like the type of game he’d thrive in
Nathan gives it all
He’s playing pretty well
Him getting blasted in the balls feels emblematic of the Timbers season.
Slip slidin away
This definitely looks like two bad teams playing soccer
Tired of Grandma’s drapes jerseys. How are the Timbers supposed to feel good about themselves wearing those? Seems like pouring salt in a wound.
Alright, players now retaking the field for warmups, kick off scheduled for 8:25
I know the Rapids have a game on Saturday, but since the Timbers don't play again until the 15th, would it be the worst thing for either team to postpone this game until tomorrow? Just looking at my wife's Twitter feed and the weather looks pretty dire in CC right now.
Now that's a thunderstorm. https://twitter.com/BrendanPloen/status/1676412669988044801?s=20
Unregistered so can't access twitter. Is it bad enough that the match should get postponed?
yeah, Elon's latest 3D chess moves at twitter mean I can't see those without an account. I saw pics on my wife's phone of rain blowing sideways so hard it looked like a blizzard, and Blanco and the team taking video of how hard it's raining, though.
Yeah I’m done with Twitter for good. Not giving a maniacal fascist any of my info. My life will be fine without it.
Yeah.... definitely shouldn't talk about those types of things in here. Keep it soccer related. Which I try to do. You definitely won't like my opinions on your comment.
Ya I disagree never be afraid to call a fascist a fascist
Ok....you're a fascist
Not to turn this into any sort of political/social media rant, but I walked away from almost all social media (I still have instagram, which I look at like every 2-3 days at the most) in about 2019, and my life has been the better for it.
I'm not one to tell people what they should or shouldn't do, so if you (the collective you) still enjoy social media, go for it, but I will say that for me, my head is much more peaceful since I stopped caring about/investing in who today's twitter main character is. And after about two weeks, I stopped worrying if I was missing something.
I use Twitter quite a bit...but in a pretty narrow, restricted manner. I don't do socio-political stuff there: it's 99% connecting with Japanese music scene friends* and footy.
* Like 60% or so of everything on my feed is in Japanese. Great way to work on my (still crap) Japanese language skills. ;)
Deleted Twitter when Elon bought it. Hated it for a long time before that. Still look at Facebook on Saturday AMs or if on vacation, but nearly all my friends never post anything anymore, essentially 95% ads. I should delete that too.
I went off Twitter when Musk bought it, but then reinstalled it during a Timbers game to get the starting XI and follow some commentary
But then when both Elon Musk and Alexi Lalas used Twitter as a platform to support Ron DeSantis, I deleted Twitter and unsubscribed from Lalas podcast. Had to.
My wife still has a FB account, because a couple of her friends live overseas and only use FB to communicate with their friends in the States, but otherwise her experience is the same as yours - it's all ads at this point from the sounds of it.
Yeah, now that Pearls from Myrna is on Mastadon, that's all I need.
I only just created a fake Facebook account recently so I could sell some crap on Marketplace.
Could they even play tomorrow if it is that bad? I assume flights would get dellayed.cancelled, also?
Thunderstorms in CO don't really last more than a few hours (these are forecast to pass by 10PM mountain time tonight), and since there isn't any thunder in the forecast tomorrow I would assume they could get a game in. The pitch might still be a bit soaked but it should definitely be playable.
Congratulations! You just bought the Timbers. The people want to know: what are your 1, 5 & 10 year plans for your new club?
Lol, are you trying to will us new ownership? But okay, here's my piece and YMMV:
Year One: Clean house in the FO and on the coaching staff. Do extensive global search and budget for major improvement in the academy. Also hire analytics staff since we apparently don't have any. Consider having a Technical Director as well as GM. Also work at repairing replationship with the fanbase. Also look at training staff and figure hy all those injuries; hire new staff if necessary.
Year Two: Seriously look at going to grass but hire experts and form a committee to investiage the possibility. Also look at hybrid turf. Promise fans that all findings will be public and emphasize that we're not moving from PP so if turf is in the foreseeable future, then at least we've a full investiation of all alternatives.
Year Five: Fullly functioning academy, hopefully. Do we need academy residency/dorms? Also review the playing side - how are we doing on the pitch? Adjust and review budget if necessary if we need better dp's. Also review how we're doing on attendance and season tickets. Can we impvoe profits by making changes to the fan experience - better and cheaper food, etc?
Year Ten: If we have grass pitch, purse national team friendly/qualifiers. Pursue Copa America if held in US. Pursue any Mexico matches (ugh) since they play anyway in the usa and their fans will travel. Also review if we've won any silverware lately and make adjustments to reach that goal.
So I included year two, lol. This was a great question - pretty clear the Timbers need a major makeover.
Grass has already been thoroughly experti and committee-ified. They know what they need to do to make it happen. They just need to spend the money. The last official obstacle was finding another place for Thorns to practice, presumably currently held up by the supposed sale.
I'm with you on investing in the academy, especially as we move away from having catchment areas and can bring in players from around the globe instead of being geographically restricted. The lack of investment in the past had at least a bit to do with demographics. Even though we have access to some other states to draw players from, we still don't have populations like LA, Dallas, Houston, NYC, or even Philly.
As I understand it, the lack of turf has been one of the main obstacles to hosting international matches.
I believe there were/are even some contingencies for further expansion which were initially predicated upon the US hosting the World Cup but probably got delayed because of COVID19 and our FO BS.
Any particular style or coach?
South American is fine; Germany and perhaps France also. Not sure about Spain since salary cap needs to go up plus Spanish players can go play in top 5 easily enough. I think that giiven our player history - Blanco, Chara, Valeri - makes sense to go Argentinian or Brazilian.
Gm from somewhere in the bvb system. Coach from the Ajax system, with a hybrid bvb/Ajax style.
Gm from bvb because they have the best talent identification and scouting in the world. A gm with an understanding of thatbstructure could come in and implement a foundation for success and growth.
Ajax system and coach because they have one of the most beautiful systems in the world. They see the game in the way I love to watch. Constantly moving into patterns and creating opportunities with a quasi tiki-taka identity.
Dutch style is fine - I'm a fan. But have to be careful because look at Cincy. In particular, the Dutch style really depends on high soccer iq, etc. Any owner would need to pony up for the academy training first of all - an expensie in itself. And might even need to spend more than $ mil annually - at least that's the amount Philly suppposedly spends. Me? I'd green light Clockowrk Orange. But some owners will balk.
Academy definitely would come into play and that's why I would want someone from bvb. Someone who has global connections and someone that understands how they view talent and find it. All for the purpose of building a powerhouse pipeline of players through the academy. Instead of always looking to buy players and get lucky.
Since we are a "small market" (how big is Ajax again and how global is their brand. Market size is a cop-out) we need to focus heavily on our academy to maintain a competitive team over the next 20-30 years. We will never be first choice for top talent like a messi, Ronaldo, Kane, halland. We will never get that kind of talent in Portland. But we could be the first choice for those players in the formative years of their careers. Be a stepping stone to better things for them, while making a profit and brand. That's our future and if we don't go that way we will be the Everton of mls.
Absolutely agree. One nightmare I have is even if MP sells, any new owner could be worse. And he/she might not give any more crap about an academy. Surely there's an owner who can see the rewards - monetarily - of having an academy and churning out talent. In time, it could pay for itself. No offense to SKC but if I'm a young player I';d prefer Protalnd rather than Kansas city.
Mind you, the Dutch league as a whole runs on budget (except perhaps Ajax and even their finances pale cmpared to a team like Everton) because of the well established player development methodology and academies. If I'm a Dutch sproting director/coach, etc and going to MLS I would demand a well funcition academy and not just the bare minimum. When Gio got hired, GW said there was plenty of interest. Wonder if any DUtch guys applied. Maybe MP/GW knew that given their lack of effort with the acacemy that a candidate from Ajax, Feyerboord, PSV , etc. would back out or lost finerest?
Assuming this happens within the next few months, or at the end of this season:
1 year: significantly enhance the size, scope, and budget of the scouting/analytics staff (ongoing). Evaluate and improve the training/fitness/medical staff (also ongoing). Institute two year freeze on ticket price increases, and implement value menus at PP similar to what they do in Atlanta - good food and good beer at real-world prices, not just $1.25 hot dogs or whatever.
5 years: Spend time figuring out the best way to build a youth pipeline for the Timbers, whatever that looks like. Whether that's leveraging the existing system the way the Timbers tried to years ago, creating a new one, or something in between, the goal should be building a reliable pipeline into Timbers academy teams.
10 years: Nothing absolutely concrete, but the goal by year 10 should be to have the Timbers exist in the upper echelon of the league, and consistently be in the hunt for the Supporters' Shield and a reasonably strong playoff team. Take these 10 years to build a culture that demands success, and that success will start to build and feed upon itself.
I wonder, do the fans have the patience for your ownership? I think most want to be in the upper echelon now (realistic or not). I like your emphasis on scouting and development. I didn't see any remarks on coaching staff, happy there? Thanks!
I am not happy with the coaching or the roster at this point, but I was focusing on more big-picture infrastructure stuff and didn't get bogged down in the shortest-of-short term things like "get this player" or "get this coach".
If I own the team as of next week, my first act is to fire Gio, unquestionably. Then all that other stuff.
The patience will come when every move I outlined above is communicated clearly as time goes on. There are no shortcuts from here; the Timbers are a mess right now and it's gonna take some time to fix. Freezing in-stadium prices will help buy some short-term goodwill.
This is likely a long delay, judging by the radar. Probably after 8-8:30. The game to watch is LAFC vs. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. 90,000 tickets sold. Starts at 7:30.
We were just in LA last week and stopped by the Rose Bowl on Saturday. I saw the banners up and didn’t think too much of it but, apparently, this is the game they were touting.
Also, I’m pretty amazed that they can fit 90,000 in that area. The stadium is huge but it’s essentially in a city park with tennis courts, and aquatic center, etc., and it’s just north of and down the hill from downtown Pasadena, in sort of a historic neighborhood. It’d be as if they put a huge stadium near like Grant HS in Portland.
This match was going to open the season but flooding rains forced the postponement.
What the fuck do they expect me to do? watch this black and white bullshit until the game comes on?
Yeah, there was a long delay several weeks ago. Weird that they apparently don’t have the technology to show another game, then cut out when the correct one starts or at least show highlights.
They almost certainly have the technology. But the production of games according to this deal is on the MLS side of the house; Apple just provided the money, the platform, and the infrastructure. So if you can't easily switch over to another game without exiting the feed you chose, that's an MLS decision, not an Apple one.
Man, if that is true, Apple grossly underestimated what they were buying into...
Not even remotely. They got free ad space on every MLS kit, both worn and sold, not to mention ad space and mentions in stadium during games. they get subscription fees for everyone who pays for the MLS package, and they get innumerable mentions as the place where MLS lives.
And they got that while offloading literally 100% of the production cost of the product on their channel to the entity providing that product. That's an absolute steal from Apple's POV; they get all the benefits, and they pushed most of the costs (I think Apple also upgraded cameras/remote broadcast trucks etc) to MLS.
Yeah... But it left MLS, which is notorious for being bad at creating a product, to create the product. And ultimately better product means more eyeballs...
For sure, but Apple absolutely didn't underestimate what they were buying into. They bought into easy profits with very little outlay.
Exactly this, Apple is a leader in technology, even ballsy enough to try and sell me a $3500 ski goggle with a screen, but they haven’t figured out how to deal with a delayed game. I don’t expect the Dallas/DC announcers to cut in and tell all the Timbers fans “hey your game is on change the channel” so I could be stuck watching these fools while the game I want to watch is actually on.
And Season Pass - you can’t toggle a different game or some commentary or something while we wait for the delay to end?
I can watch the Dallas-DC game right now...can you not?
Outrageous NASCAR Moments on TSN or Wipeout Zone finals on TBD. I’ve got both on! Yeah, ‘Merica!
What JJ said. Exit the game and then cluck on the Dallas match from the match menu. Or watch a replay.
Dcs goalie isn't looking great ngl seem destined to concede
You can go turn on the Dallas-DC game, that’s what I’m doing
Yeah but then I won’t know when delay is over….
Toggle back and forth or watch the Dallas-DC game and follow the Timbers on the ESPN app...
Weather delay - is it:
1) good because the game hasn’t actually started so we’re spared from watching?
Or
2) Bad because the game isn’t any closer to being over yet?
Well if it turns into a postponement to another day, that's very good because maybe Evander is back then.
A Hobson's choice if I ever saw one.
I'm taking it as a sign from the soccer gods *cough cough rsl*
There are two guys in this lineup who haven't had significant time. 2. The rest have been here and played together, or are veterans. We should look like we know what we're doing. We'll see. But I expect the excuse to be Gio is dealing with too many injuries etc.
Also, I'm troubled by the possibility that Gio isn't getting along with Evander, Moreno, and Jazzy, possibly sitting two or three of them because of it.
You have to wonder about Evander...he didn't come here for this. Not after playing in Europa League. Don't know about Moreno and Jazzy. I do suspect that Gio has lost the locker room. Just look at how this team plays on the regular every week. They're always flat and liefeless practially every match.
I would imagine that Evander went into this clear-eyed. He was probably made aware by his agent that this year would be a step back, but that this move wasn't just about this year.
Totally, I mean we didn't make the playoffs last year. If Evander thought he was coming into a winning team, he didn't do his homework.
Just saw the lineup. Gio waved the white flag, full stop. Maybe he really wants to get fired. We can oly hope. I also saw Yapi starting for the Rpaids; where's our young player? Oh wait..we don't have any.
whatevs, just here for the witty banter :-)
If we lose this one in embarrassing style, here’s hoping for the soon to be independence of the coaching staff and several players this offseason.
Happy 4th everyone!!!
Emotional Support Nachos are ready. Half time Emotional Support Hot Dogs are in the queue.
Lol. Looks like those are going to be some good choices tonight.
As hard as this team is on my heart my doc says I have to eat much healthier than that. Salad for dinner tonight.
We're having Emotional Support hot dogs along with Emotional Support hambugers tonight. And since I have some extra ale in the firdige, I suspect a bottle's about to be uncapped.
Weird ass lineup. To me it looks like a 4-3-3 with Nathan on the wing and a midfield of Paredes, Griffith, and Chara, but I don’t know. Bingham over Ivacic is weird. Glad Miller is starting at CB though
4-4-1-1 with Nathan as striker and Boli as center forward?
But what is Loria supposed to do? He doesn't score nor does he distribute. But he's up top with Boli and Nathan?
Wing it!
😏
Why does Bingham need to play? You don't trot out your second string fk if your regular starter is healthy and you need points. Also in what universe is Loria a forward?? We also have barely any creativity in the middle without Evander. If Boli thinks he gest no service, well now..
In a universe where this already bare bones lineup is hit by injuries and callups, and in a world where the manager of said bag of bare bones is probably desperately trying anything in order to force a shakeup.
Purely a guess: Ivacic had a poor match Saturday and is paying the price.
NOT a bad guess.
I actually like Bingham over Ivacic. Ivacic makes things tougher on the back line by his style. Given how the Timbers want to play Bingham is better. That said the way our defense has been doesn’t really matter.
Don’t get too hung up on Bingham. He implodes everywhere he’s played. He’ll implode here.
Yeah, I’m no Gio apologist, but he’s def having to scrape the bottom of the barrel, roster-wise. That’s not helping anything.
3rd time, I think. Pretty sure they played in Commerce City on the 4th in 2016.