Since the start of the offseason in December, the Timbers have cut ties with ten players replacing them (so far) with six players. It’s not a roster overhaul. Coach Caleb Porter is putting his money for his mouth is. Despite missing out of the playoffs, few teams played better than the Timbers did in the second half of the season. Despite that high level of play, the team was just not capable of overcoming it’s acrid start.
Trouble is the team is likely bound to be in the same hole. Despite being ahead of schedule injuries to Diego Valeri and Will Johnson will hamper the team. Even once they are capable of playing, it’s unreasonable to expect Valeri or Johnson to immediately revert to their pre-injury form.
The schedule hardly helps. The Timbers first five games are all against playoff opponents before playing Kaka and Orlando City.
Until last year, Porter’s teams have always excelled at defense. Last year Porter was on the other end and he did not like it. Donovan Ricketts was only a year removed from being the league’s top backstop. But age and nagging injuries were beginning to show. When they found a willing buyer in Orlando City, the team targeted Adam Kwarasey. Born in Oslo, the Ghanan international, is 26 years old and, the team feels, has the tools to succeed in MLS.
Another one-time Norwegian player will be protecting Kwarasey on the backline.
Nat Borchers fits what Portland is trying to do on the field just as well as his beard fits in with the Stumptown culture.
On the wings, the team feels set with Alvas Powell and Jorge Villafana but is excited about the play of Brazilian Jeanderson Pereira.
The biggest x-factor for the defense is DP Liam Ridgewell. Ridgewell used the winter transfer window to play for Wigan on-loan in the Championship. With burnout being a factor plus missing a sizeable portion of training camp, its not ideal. The team says it got a good deal in return for loaning out their player but it’s likely the team had little say in the matter.
Liam Ridgewell (seated, right) will miss a large portion of training camp to play in England. How quickly he pairs with a new defensive-mate and keeper is crucial for the Timber’s chances. Photo courtesy of the Portland Timbers.
Gone is Michael Harrington. Despite a solid season in 2013 (earning a spot at USMNT camp in the process), Harrington was a scapegoat for the team’s defensive woes in 2014. He is in Colorado.
Also out the door are four separate centerbacks: Pa Modou Kah, Rauwshan McKenzie, Danny O’Rourke, and homegrown Bryan Gallego.
The Timbers were among the more prolific teams in 2014. As such, there’s a feeling that the offense is on good footing despite the potentially devastating loss of Valeri, but more on that later.
Fanendo Adi tapered off towards the end. Despite that, Porter feels good about strikers. For good reason, after sixty five minutes of beating up opposing centerbacks up with the towering Adi, defenders were seldom able to recover to chase around the cat-like Maximiliano Urruti. Gaston Ferndandez took a hard look at the market before coming back to sign with the team.
The strength of the team’s offense is using the teams rangy wingers to penetrate and disrupt. Rodney Wallace recovered from his ACL tear to power Portland nearly through the end of season. Darlington Nagbe only had one goal last year. That’s not likely going to happen again despite Nagbe potentially moving to the center of the field to fill Valeri’s role whilst the Argentinian recovers.
Such speculation would have been doubtful a year ago. In his first press conference in joining the team, Porter said in 2013 that Nagbe wasn’t going to be in the middle. That still may be the case but it’s also undeniable that Nagbe’s game and maturity have both elevated in the time since.
Such a move opens the door for Colombian winger Dairon Asprilla. A disruptive force capable of playing both wings, Asprilla might be the sort of player who fits Porter’s system to a T.
Parts will come and go over time but the test will be to see where the Timbers stand on the morning of April 27th. Eight games into the season, the Timbers will have played six playoff teams, three Cascadia games, and against two expansion opponents. If the team starts another season sitting on five points eight games into the season, it’s unlikely the team will suffer through another quiet offseason in 2016.
