by Matt Hoffman
When the Timbers broke camp this weekend, it was similar to Pearl Jam’s North America Tour drop: it whetted the appetite but didn’t cure the hunger, answering some questions, but leaving several unanswered. For example, the furthest west PJ is playing is Chicago? Are you serious?
Will center back depth be an issue?
At the face of it, the Timbers have the best center back pairing in the league in Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers and the team made the swap to acquire Jermaine Taylor whom Caleb Porter described as “a big boy.”
All over 30 (Ridgewell and Taylor are 31 and Borchers is 34), it is the oldest position on a team that, at the moment, has an average age of 26.
Like any coach in MLS, Porter likes to have depth and flexibility. But center back has been the most vexing position for Porter to fill during his tenure at Portland, mixing and matching center back combinations like how Pearl Jam used to go through drummers (it all comes back to Pearl Jam).
If either Ridgewell, who is rumored to be seeking a longer term loan abroad, or Borchers were to sustain an injury for a period of time, it’s not readily apparent who becomes the new number three.
Porter has a stable of players who can play spot duty including Ben Zemanski, who has played the role for the team before. Zarek Valentine and Taylor Peay are both capable of switching over but, like Zemanski, they are good on the ball but give up both size and heft.
One other candidate may reside at T2. Anthony Manning played center back and recently had his contract option exercised by the team.
How will the integration of T2 evolve?
Speaking of grooming players for new roles, it was the LA Galaxy II that was credited with Robbie Rogers’ shift from the midfield to full back. That development pushed several teams (Portland among them) to accelerate their plans for a USL team.
The Timbers haven’t had that sort of crossover success yet but the team has added some young talent from the SuperDraft. Last week, T2 announced the signing of 19-year-old Akinjide Idowu.
From Friday’s press statement, Idowu has 50 caps for Nigeria at the U-17 and U-20 levels, making three starts in June’s 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in June. Since then, Idowu trialed with Norwegian club Sogndal and Czech side Sparta Prague.
A defensive midfielder, Idowu will probably see a lot of action as a stopper protecting the back line but could be paired with Nick Besler in the role
Kharlton Belmar led the team in scoring last year and will be training with the Timbers in Arizona. While his rookie season was a smashing success, the same could not be said of Besler. More of a central midfielder than a center back like his brother, the Timbers hope to see Besler make the leap forward in 2016.
It’s also worthwhile to see what Michael Seaton is capable of. Acquired by the Portland Timbers from D.C. United in August, the 19-year-old Jamaican was on loan to the Richmond Kickers during their 2013 USL Pro Regular Season Championship. Seaton made four appearances for T2, scoring one goal in 2015.
How different is this “different” going to be?
It had been a staple of the Timbers for the last two years: give defenses 70 minutes of the physically bruising but technically skilled Fanendo Adi and close games with the speedy Maxi Urruti.
Urruti is gone and in his place is Jack McInerney. Mcinerny isn’t the cat-like Urruti, but he’s not going to hold up the ball and create like Adi either.
This is a new role for McInerney who had been a regular starter until his mid-season trade to Columbus in August. McInerney will have a full off-season to adjust to being, at least in the interim, a “supersub” though he made it clear to the media assembled on Saturday that his role is to create competition.
While Urruti could run and drag defenders out of position, McInerney is a classic poacher who can read the channels and get in behind defenders. These forwards generally are better suited for a two striker set-up but don’t be surprised to see if Porter has a few runs designed for McInerney as the coach expressed his glee that he has a team that is “tactically flexible.”
Is this going to be the year the team gets it right in March?
It’s not how you start, rather how you finish. Porter has a side that has finished strong three years in a row after so-so starts. Fresh off of an MLS Cup run and with no serious injuries in camp, can the Timbers come storming out of the gates?
It’s certainly plausible. The team opens at home against Columbus before playing its next three games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year.
What’s still missing from the puzzle?
Porter said he liked and was comfortable with both Lucas Melano and Dairon Asprilla taking over the departed Rodney Wallace’s left winger spot, but he also admitted that the Timbers were looking a Wallace replacement. Porter admitted the shorter window meant the team was looking more toward someone with MLS experience. However, having Melano and Asprilla on deck might mean the Timbers are more willing to deviate from that policy. Trailist Eric Avila is in camp has played a role similar to Wallace’s but is likely not that player. Avila’s attacking chops aren’t on par with Melano or Asprilla and his on-ball defense is okay, not great.
