"But it’s performances like last weekend that are the sustainable ones"
I certainly hope so. I'm cautiously optimistic but at the same time not holding my breath, if that makes sense.
"I am saying we should continue to exercise a bit of patience and wait to see how he pans out — especially as the team potentially improves around him."
One of the worst things about modern discourse is that the decision whether someone is good or sucks takes place after (and sometimes during) the smallest of small sample sizes. Evander will be just fine, and as you note, he's getting better and more comfortable game by game. He's playing a new-ish position in a different system in a different league in a different country, so of course there's going to be a period where he has to acclimatize to all those things, all at once. That's a lot. It's also to be expected, and it's not really fair to fully judge him until he is settled and the team is settled around him.
I don't recall who, so I apologize for stealing your bit whoever you were, but someone in the comments a few days ago made the comp between Evander and Hany Mukhtar, comparing their first seasons and finding them very similar, and if that's the path Evander's on...wow.
RE Evander... RCTEyeDee, that's a helpful recitation of factors that go into his becoming acclimated in MLS, and why it's bound to take a good bit of time.
Honestly, Evander's curve is even more complex then Hany Mukhtar's; because beyond his personal offensive output, he's here to be PTFC's offensive leader AND facilitator.
That depends on him gaining a deep understanding of the habits, capabilities and combination play of all the guys he plays with. And that's been pretty hard for him to even start to get a handle on with all the injuries we've had. No wonder he's looked and played frustrated a few times...
This is one thing that he needs to work on. Right now he does seem frustrated, both with his own play and the teams results. Hopefully getting some wins under the belt, along with Moreno and Y Chara contributing more will relax him and let him play without worrying about results. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it feels like he has been playing with the weight of the team on his shoulders.
...it feels like he has been playing with the weight of the team on his shoulders... Apt observation, Benno.
Evander's a very, very good player with a personal agenda of wanting to be on stage at the highest levels. And he's keenly aware the best way to get there is to bring PTFC to a higher level in MLS and get the US media machine on board... it's a big part of why he came here.
He wants to get this all turned around yesterday... and it's gotta be eating at him.
Yep, and if that is the case it becomes a problem. Evander needs to focus on playing his game, and not worry about anything else. If Moreno plays like he did last week it will help. Wth Yimmi coming back it also relieves pressure for Evander to do too much. We haven't seen the best of his play, and I'm looking forward to seeing him just play.
Ayala injury concerns me greatly. We have DC and Paredes. Beyond that we had Eryk and Ayala. It would seem that running 3 in the middle with two defensive is going to be very challenging going forward. Unless one of newer signings from T2 can step into that role may necessitate tweak to the formation. At some point during game and season Paredes and Lord Chara will need some rest. Others thoughts?
I’m thinking it might not be a bad idea to sign a super cheap short term D mid in the summer, basically like Fochive. Someone with MLS experience who can soak up some minutes for the second half the season. Unspectacular but steady. Paredes being so injury prone is what concerns me the most
Single match breather or yellow card suspension I'm not too worried about. Throw in Yimmi, Moreno, Loria or the T2 kid in and tell Bravo and Mosquera to hedge. Or play 5 in the back. Heck, I imagine Bravo or Miller could both play a reasonable 6 for a single game. Another injury and we're royally screwed, though...
I don't know as honestly I don't follow T2 closely enough, but I think Caliskan, the guy we signed 4/28 the day before Ayala blew out his knee, is also a defensive midfielder. I think Loria also had played there for Saprissa, before we brought him to Portland, but that was now a long time ago and he has played nothing but winger here.
Chara clearly can't be single pivot by himself at this stage of his career. Parades by himself also probably takes away the best part of his game. But we have a ton of offensive minded mids and Mosquera and Bravo who can clearly play the entire modern full back wing position, so could you go 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 with only 1 of them, as long as your d stays disciplined/mentally engaged and positionally smart.
This is a bit off topic, but I have a request of the authors. Would it be possible to put up a general/random/open discussion post like once a week? Maybe like a Monday morning weekly open thread type post? It would be cool to have a place to put links and talk about things that are MLS/other soccer league related but not necessarily Timbers related.
The thing that prompted that thought was this article I read the other day:
The Timbers are very much underutilizing analytics, and it's an area I'd really like them to get better at, because it would help. Every edge counts, and while stats and analytics aren't a magic key that unlocks everything, if beefing up the analytics department and making data-driven decisions can win the Timbers an extra game or two a season, it's totally worth it.
On the poor xG comments (for), we spent a month barely shooting the ball. I mean like Shittle in an MLS Cup Final bad levels of attempts on goal. Yes, we were missing pieces to make final connections in dangerous spots, but we were also playing guys trying to not shoot unless the opportunity was perfect.
This isn't an argument for taking dumb shots and being wasteful, but you also have to pull the trigger. You don't score 100% of the time you don't shoot.
"But it’s performances like last weekend that are the sustainable ones"
I certainly hope so. I'm cautiously optimistic but at the same time not holding my breath, if that makes sense.
"I am saying we should continue to exercise a bit of patience and wait to see how he pans out — especially as the team potentially improves around him."
One of the worst things about modern discourse is that the decision whether someone is good or sucks takes place after (and sometimes during) the smallest of small sample sizes. Evander will be just fine, and as you note, he's getting better and more comfortable game by game. He's playing a new-ish position in a different system in a different league in a different country, so of course there's going to be a period where he has to acclimatize to all those things, all at once. That's a lot. It's also to be expected, and it's not really fair to fully judge him until he is settled and the team is settled around him.
I don't recall who, so I apologize for stealing your bit whoever you were, but someone in the comments a few days ago made the comp between Evander and Hany Mukhtar, comparing their first seasons and finding them very similar, and if that's the path Evander's on...wow.
RE Evander... RCTEyeDee, that's a helpful recitation of factors that go into his becoming acclimated in MLS, and why it's bound to take a good bit of time.
Honestly, Evander's curve is even more complex then Hany Mukhtar's; because beyond his personal offensive output, he's here to be PTFC's offensive leader AND facilitator.
That depends on him gaining a deep understanding of the habits, capabilities and combination play of all the guys he plays with. And that's been pretty hard for him to even start to get a handle on with all the injuries we've had. No wonder he's looked and played frustrated a few times...
This is one thing that he needs to work on. Right now he does seem frustrated, both with his own play and the teams results. Hopefully getting some wins under the belt, along with Moreno and Y Chara contributing more will relax him and let him play without worrying about results. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it feels like he has been playing with the weight of the team on his shoulders.
...it feels like he has been playing with the weight of the team on his shoulders... Apt observation, Benno.
Evander's a very, very good player with a personal agenda of wanting to be on stage at the highest levels. And he's keenly aware the best way to get there is to bring PTFC to a higher level in MLS and get the US media machine on board... it's a big part of why he came here.
He wants to get this all turned around yesterday... and it's gotta be eating at him.
Yep, and if that is the case it becomes a problem. Evander needs to focus on playing his game, and not worry about anything else. If Moreno plays like he did last week it will help. Wth Yimmi coming back it also relieves pressure for Evander to do too much. We haven't seen the best of his play, and I'm looking forward to seeing him just play.
Ayala injury concerns me greatly. We have DC and Paredes. Beyond that we had Eryk and Ayala. It would seem that running 3 in the middle with two defensive is going to be very challenging going forward. Unless one of newer signings from T2 can step into that role may necessitate tweak to the formation. At some point during game and season Paredes and Lord Chara will need some rest. Others thoughts?
I’m thinking it might not be a bad idea to sign a super cheap short term D mid in the summer, basically like Fochive. Someone with MLS experience who can soak up some minutes for the second half the season. Unspectacular but steady. Paredes being so injury prone is what concerns me the most
Single match breather or yellow card suspension I'm not too worried about. Throw in Yimmi, Moreno, Loria or the T2 kid in and tell Bravo and Mosquera to hedge. Or play 5 in the back. Heck, I imagine Bravo or Miller could both play a reasonable 6 for a single game. Another injury and we're royally screwed, though...
I don't know as honestly I don't follow T2 closely enough, but I think Caliskan, the guy we signed 4/28 the day before Ayala blew out his knee, is also a defensive midfielder. I think Loria also had played there for Saprissa, before we brought him to Portland, but that was now a long time ago and he has played nothing but winger here.
Chara clearly can't be single pivot by himself at this stage of his career. Parades by himself also probably takes away the best part of his game. But we have a ton of offensive minded mids and Mosquera and Bravo who can clearly play the entire modern full back wing position, so could you go 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 with only 1 of them, as long as your d stays disciplined/mentally engaged and positionally smart.
This is a bit off topic, but I have a request of the authors. Would it be possible to put up a general/random/open discussion post like once a week? Maybe like a Monday morning weekly open thread type post? It would be cool to have a place to put links and talk about things that are MLS/other soccer league related but not necessarily Timbers related.
The thing that prompted that thought was this article I read the other day:
https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2023/5/1/2023-mls-analytics-survey
The Timbers are very much underutilizing analytics, and it's an area I'd really like them to get better at, because it would help. Every edge counts, and while stats and analytics aren't a magic key that unlocks everything, if beefing up the analytics department and making data-driven decisions can win the Timbers an extra game or two a season, it's totally worth it.
On the poor xG comments (for), we spent a month barely shooting the ball. I mean like Shittle in an MLS Cup Final bad levels of attempts on goal. Yes, we were missing pieces to make final connections in dangerous spots, but we were also playing guys trying to not shoot unless the opportunity was perfect.
This isn't an argument for taking dumb shots and being wasteful, but you also have to pull the trigger. You don't score 100% of the time you don't shoot.