As the dust settles on the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with the Portland Timbers and their offseason moves so far in this, their true first offseason as a Major League Soccer franchise.

Way back at the end of their inaugural campaign where the team narrowly missed the playoffs, Coach John Spencer decided to keep the squad intact and train together up until the MLS Cup. The thought being the teams’ fitness would be much better when the club reconvened for the 2012 season. Post-MLS Cup, news had been fairly quiet. The team made small moves, parting ways with a few reserve players and remained fairly low profile for a team whose front office was openly touting that changes were coming.

The first significant move happened in December when the club announced the signing of up and coming Columbian striker Jose Adolfo Valencia. The 19 year old from Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia fits owner Merritt Paulson’s vision of getting little known players on their way up as opposed to over paying star players at the end of their career. Valencia, or “El Trencito (The Little Train),” fits this bill.

Rumors of other international signings have surfaced over the past several weeks but nothing has materialized as of yet. Thursdays SuperDraft produced promising talent with the Timbers grabbing UConn Center Back Andrew Jean-Baptistse, a player with size and tremendous upside but who may not be MLS ready. In the 2^nd round they picked up a Midfielder from Notre Dame, Brendan King, who enjoyed a solid career for the Fighting Irish yet will his skills translate to the MLS?

The “biggest” move thus far, was the draft day trade of Kenny Cooper to RBNY in exchange for a 2013 1^st round pick and conditional allocation money. Cooper was a polarizing player in Portland. Some fans we’re glad to see him go, being upset with his inconsistency and lack of goal scoring during the 2011 season, others (like myself) appreciated his hard work on the pitch, his size in the box and also felt that Cooper was just starting to settle in to his role as the season came to a close.

As a Timbers fan, I have to hope the front office isn’t done making moves. Does the Cooper trade suggest the team has a potential deal in place for another Striker? Going into the 2012 season with Jorge Perlaza and Valencia as your forwards, seems a step backwards to me. Even on the back line, where the squad needs the most help, drafting a raw 19 year old out of college doesn’t exactly make me think that the position has been upgraded (especially since starter David Horst will be out 5-7 months after hip surgery).

Hopefully, as the “Offseason Report #1” suggests, this is still a work in progress. I like that management has made moves to acquire promising assets, however, one would feel much more confident if some proven assets could be acquired prior to First Kick as well.

However, instead we were treated to the same old road woes that plagued this team most of the season. Mental lapses on defense, not being able to finish chances (the few that were there) and just some plain old bad luck in the form of questionable officiating (more on that later).

Things looked good to begin with as Portland controlled possession for the first 10 minutes but things went downhill from there. The Timbers seemed to not be able to utilize their speed up front and couldn’t create many scoring chances for themselves. They also let the lack of calls from head referee Alex Prus frustrate them more as the game went along and the physical play increased. Poor defense and soft goalkeeping contributed to New York’s first half goal by Dane Richards. Then an extremely questionable handball call in the 2nd half followed by a ridiculous red card handed out to the offender Kalif Alhassan gave the Red Bulls another goal off the converted Luke Rodgers penalty kick. Two to zero to the Red Bulls, and the Timbers down two goals with ten players. There’s your ballgame.

Now I admit I’m a homer and I don’t want to really clown on the officiating but this was another poor outing by a MLS crew. Prus seemed to have swallowed his whistle as hard fouls, take downs and flops went uncalled for the majority of the game. The handball call in the box was iffy at best but then issuing a red card on top of it as if it was intentional was completely bogus. Let’s hope Major League Soccer can explore upgrading the quality of officials in the offseason as this has been an issue for every club at some point this season.

That being said, the Timbers can only blame the loss on their inconsistent play, especially during road games where the club has won only once all year. Now the team finds themselves on the outside of the playoff race looking in. Another road game against a Vancouver team that will be opening up their new digs at BC Place doesn’t make things get any easier. It’s gut check time kids. This team has bounced back before this season. Let’s see if they can do it again.

As the inaugural season in Major League Soccer winds down for the Portland Timbers, the squad finds themselves in something one wouldn’t have expected a month ago: a playoff hunt. Granted, right now in the standings the Timbers are on the outside looking in, but if last Saturday’s dominating victory over the New England Revolution is any indication, this team may be in the thick of things up until the very end.

After a disappointing stretch on the road back in mid-August, the Timbers returned home to Jeld-Wen Field and have apparently got their mojo back in the City of Roses. Two straight victories at home combined with a hard fought point in Philadelphia have seemingly injected a burst of late season energy into the team. The game against the Revs showcased, in my humble opinion, the best attacking half of soccer this team has played as a franchise. And I’m including the home drubbing against the Galaxy in that list.

Now I know this came against the last place Revolution, who at times in the first half looked as if they hadn’t gotten off the plane at PDX, but the newly tweaked lineup by coach John Spencer paid off immediately. Spencer had rookie Darlington Nagbe start up front with forward Kenny Cooper, while normal starter Jorge Perlaza sat out due to illness. That change resulted in one of the rookie’s finest performances of the season. Nagbe’s speed and athleticism — combined with speedy Mids Sal Zizzo, Diego Chara and Kahlif Alhassan — simply overwhelmed New England back line in the first half. The result was a 2-0 halftime lead on goals by Chara (is it safe to say the team’s MVP of the second half this year?) and Cooper (happy for the big guy) and plenty of other scoring chances. And while New England played with a bit more urgency in the second half, it was Nagbe who scored his second goal of the season on a header, with a nice assist by Alhassan, that put the game away for good.

With six games left and four of them on the road, the Timbers chances of making the post season seem unlikely. However, in this up and down season this team has bounced back each time when it looked like as they were down for the count. Every match going forward is a “must win” as they say. If the Timbers can put together a performance like Saturday from here on out, who knows? Maybe Jeld-Wen will be hosting its first ever MLS Cup playoff match in 2011.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. On a warm, beautiful sunny night in downtown Portland, Oregon, a certain team from California came into Jeld-Wen with perhaps a bit of overconfidence, eh? And finally, FINALLY, the Timbers put together a top notch performance for a full 90 minutes at home to defeat the L.A. Galaxy 3-0 before a giddy and shocked sellout Timbers crowd.

Let’s get a few Timbers fun facts out of the way first, shall we.

• The win snapped LA’s 15 game unbeaten streak.
• It was the Galaxies only 3rd defeat of the season and first since May 1st.
• It was Portland’s first home win since May 21st.
• I finally got to see a win at home and didn’t have a coronary watching the boys blow a lead. (Sorry, I’m still excited)

Where to begin? As the starting lineup was announced, fans learned we’d be playing the top team in the MLS without starting All-Star Captain Jack Jewsbury (groin injury) and had a late scratch in up and coming striker Eddie Johnson (concussion in pregame, replaced by struggling Kenny Cooper). That uneasy feeling slowly melted away though as the opening whistle blew and fans watched a thoroughly dominating performance take place by the home squad. Portland was aggressive and attacked L.A. from the onset. The Galaxy time and again could not keep up with the speed of forward Jorge Perlaza on the long balls (Perlaza’s best match as a Timber in my opinion) and struggled to maintain any sort of quality possession. In the 26th minute, new left back Mike Chabala received a beautiful feed from Darlington Nagbe and kicked the ball in stride beating keeper Josh Saunders for the game’s 1st goal. Minutes later in the 33rd, Diego Chara (playing lights out I feel) fed a ball to Jorge Perlaza at the top of the box who outran the defender and hammered a shot low and in the corner to give the home team a 2-nil lead that they’d take into halftime. The dazed and rabid crowd couldn’t believe the scoreboard at the end of 1. Portland up 2-nil and leading the Galaxy in shots 9-0. Wow indeed.

As expected, the 2nd half saw the Galaxy up the pressure but still unable to muster any real solid chances. The Timbers held ground and provided the tense crowd a sense of relief when Eric Brunner headed in a corner in the 68th minute to give the Timbers a 3-nil lead. And yes, when we hit the 70th minute, the past several games were in the back of the minds of everyone in Jeld-Wen. However, this time the Timbers kept their poise and fought for the entire game to seal the victory and a clean sheet to boot. Let’s face it, the Galaxy looked out of synch and played poorly but who cares, quite frankly. Portland played their best game as a franchise and got their greatest victory as a franchise and the city walked out with smiles on their faces instead of frowns from another bitter result and late game meltdown. A three game road trip looms. Let’s see if the Timbers can carry on with this momentum and start an unbeaten streak of their own.

I feel like these articles are beginning to sound like a broken record. Yet again, the Portland Timbers squandered another lead at home to finish in a 2-2 draw with a lowly, but newly revamped, Toronto squad. The schizophrenic nature of this team continues at home where Portland hasn’t won a match since May. The only good thing I can say about these home games is at least they’ve been entertaining. Frustrating, heartbreaking at times, yet definitely exciting games at JELD-WEN so far this season.

Coach John Spencer changed things up this week inserting four new starters in the lineup including newly acquired defenders/midfielders Mike Chabala and Lovel Palmer on the back line as well as forward Eddie Johnson replacing an injured Jorge Perlaza. David Horst replaced Eric Brunner at the Center Back spot. After a shaky start these changes began to pay off. In the 10^th minute Palmer fed a nice ball to Eddie Johnson whose shot was deflected by Reds goalie Stefan Frei and bounced off the crossbar. In the 22^nd minute, Toronto had a shot go off the post only then to see the Timbers counter and have Diego Chara find a wide open Eddie Johnson who blasted a goal in from the top of the box. Fast forward to the 57th minute and Diego Chara was again a part of the action getting dragged down in the box and drawing a PK from the head referee. Captain Jack Jewsbury put home the penalty kick and it was 2-nil Timbers and things were looking great.

Yet as we seen so many times in Portland lately, the Timbers mental lapses create opportunities for their opponents and Toronto came back to tie on goals by Peri Marosevic and Danny Koevermans in the 71^st and 81^st minutes. As reported on www.portlandtimbers.com following the game John Spencer had this to say about his teams troubles holding leads at home:

“Everybody is trying to drive forward and get that goal and get a log of timber. At times you’ve got to try to put your foot on the ball, knock it back, keep the ball, get them to run instead of trying to go and score. You don’t need to score the third one and the fourth one when you’re 2-nil up. I think its inexperience and a lack of maturing, not as people, but as professional soccer players.”

I think that’s a great point but it’s something that should have been corrected at this point in the season. Things don’t get any easier with the Galaxy coming into town on Wednesday and the next three games on the road. Portland needs to find a way to keep their focus for a full 90 and steal 3 points from Los Angeles in their next match.

Thus are the growing pains of an expansion team and as the playoffs seem to be slipping further and further away, Timbers fans can take heed in knowing that some of the pieces are in place for the future (Chara, Nagbe, Alhassan, Pelraza). The troubles on defense may just well be a problem that will not get resolved this season. And the Timbers Army must know that no lead, even at home, is safe for their squad.

Now I haven’t checked my Soccer Gods Handbook yet but I do believe there is a provision in there that states that the home team is not allowed to concede a goal in stoppage time, on Father’s Day, when I’m at the game. Right? For the second straight week that’s what happened at JELD-WEN field in Portland as the Timbers again didn’t capitalize on their chances and ended up denying themselves some extra points in the standings.

Things started poorly in the first half with Portland conceding a goal in the 5^th minute. While Portland controlled most of the possession, they did nothing with it, instead looking a little slow in their play and a bit lifeless for the entire half. The Red Bulls were satisfied with just laying back and picking their spots and the first half ended one-nil to New York with neither side getting any real chances.

But oh boy, what a second half. Suspended Timbers coach John Spencer must have motivated (screamed at) his team via satellite during the break because the Timbers came out aggressive and started taking their game to New York. The payoff was immediate as Jack Jewsbury (clearly the team’s MVP at this point) blasted a shot from outside the 18 to level the score. A minute later saw reserve center back Kevin Goldthwaite use a heel flick off a volley to give Portland the lead. The play did not slow down with both sides throughout the 2^nd half. Nineteen minutes later an own goal off a cross from Forward Jorge Perlaza put Portland ahead 3-1 and things were looking good in the Rose City. But it’s the lack of consistency, especially in the back line, that we have seen plague this team all season that lead to the following events. Thierry Henry caught Portland napping and scored in the 73’. Jewsbury failed to convert on a penalty kick minutes later that would have put the game away and a turnover along with a hand ball in the box with seconds left in stoppage time, left the raucous Timbers crowd stunned as the game ends in a 3-3 draw after De Rosario converted a penalty kick as the game ended.

The plusses in this game were that the Timbers did come back and score three goals against one of the better defensive teams in the league and they also ended their three game losing streak (I’m really trying to be positive here, people). It was an incredible atmosphere and an exciting game to watch. After the game, Thierry Henry was asked about the Timbers crowd. Here’s what he said:

“I’ve played in a lot of stadiums before. It was a great atmosphere playing at Barcelona, playing at Arsenal, playing some big games in the World Cup, but I have to say the fans [here] are amazing. Credit to them, they are amazing – they didn’t stop singing, they were there an hour before the game outside singing. Wow. Amazing.”

Now if only the Timbers can put together a complete performances to match their fans energy at some point, we may actually be on to something great.

Soccer City indeed; the Timbers Army.

The head explosion heard around the world.

Yeah, that was me. If you heard a loud bang coming from the top left corner of the United States Saturday night, that was the sound of my head exploding as I watched Colorado score a goal in stoppage time to seal a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers as a sold out, shocked JELD-WEN crowed watched in disbelief. Never mind the fact that Portland had dominated the second half and arguably played their best game as a unit this season. There it was; our third straight loss of the season and second straight loss at home. The sad thing was, as I mentioned above, we actually saw the Timbers play a solid offensive game. They had possession for most of the game, a lot of it in front of the Rapids box. The midfielders were finally creating opportunities for the forwards. Darlington Nagbe looked like the player we expected him to be on the ball. Forwards Perlaza and Cooper had some chemistry going between the two, setting each other up with scoring opportunities — something that had been missing all season long. However, despite all of these chances, the Timbers could not simply find the back of the net. Multiple breakaways, headers in front of the net, a shank before an empty goal. All resulted in misses. These events are what fans were subjected to on Saturday.

As frustration mounted in the second half, it didn’t help the situation when the referee made questionable calls, or lack of calls, time and time again. The officiating seemed to worsen as the game went on, getting so bad that in stoppage time, coach John Spencer was ejected for voicing his displeasure of the officiating crews’ performance.

I can agree the officiating was bad but I do not think it would have changed the outcome. Portland beat itself by creating great opportunities but were not able to finish them. Now we have a must win situation with the dangerous New York Red Bulls heading into town on Father’s Day. Portland will have to play without Spencer, who will be serving his one game suspension, as well as starting center back Futty Danso who will be out 2-3 weeks after suffering a shoulder injury.

However, we did see some good things on Saturday. The midfielders and forwards looked great despite their scoring woes and hopefully they can build upon that. Also, goalkeeper Troy Perkins is playing out of his skin right now. He’s truly having a great season and seems to be in top form. I also think the Red Bulls can be scored against and I expect good things from the Timbers come Sunday night. It’s a crucial point in our season.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Timbers bounce back after another tough loss. Hopefully on Sunday, the explosion heard around the world won’t will be from my cranium, but from that of a JELD-WEN crowd erupting in celebration.

If the last two Portland Timbers losses have shown me anything, it’s this: Yes, we are an expansion team.

After experiencing the euphoric feeling that came along with attending our first two home openers at JELD-WEN field, the Timbers have begun a slow and steady decline back to mediocrity (reality). Sigi was right. This team cannot simply score goals off of anything other than set pieces and now that opposing teams have focused on that, we simply cannot score at all.

Look, if someone had told me before the season started that we’d be sitting at 5-5-2 at this point in the schedule I would have been thrilled. It’s just that darn 5-0 start at home that had me thinking ‘playoffs’. Playoffs? Well now that we know we won’t be undefeated at home, the next game proves to be a crucial one for us in seeing just what this team is made of. A Saturday rematch with the Colorado Rapids, who embarrassed us in our season opener, looms. Can we respond? Can strikers Cooper and Perlaza create some goal scoring chances on their own? I know this; the raucous sellout home crowd at JELD-WEN will be ready. The Timbers Army and fans share a similarity with Trail Blazer fans in Portland. They can almost will their teams to victory with their energy and spirit. That’s what we’ll need this Saturday against Colorado to get things back on track. Oh, that and some goals from our forwards maybe? If not I’ll just keep reminding myself that ‘Hey, we’re an expansion team’. It could be worse. We could be Vancouver.