02/27/10

A renovated stadium, a new league for the Portland Timbers, and grumblings about how it has all come about.

Switch a couple of numbers around and 2010 looks a lot like 2001. That was the year of the rebirth of professional soccer in the Rose City in a rebuilt stadium. It was an exciting time for sure, but it pales in comparison to what we are living through today. Our excitement is buoyed by what has transformed over the past decade (Good gravy, is this really the 10^th season of second division football in Portland?). We survived the always-present uncertainty that goes hand in hand with lower division soccer in the United States. We watched, or more accurately, took part in an organic movement of fandom that has been special and that has led us to where we are today. We hitched our horses to an owner who was a baseball guy first and who quickly was won over by both the reality and the promise of what soccer is in this city.

But also a little unnerving and unsettling. Before the Timbers kick off the MLS era, before the stadium is polished into a jewel, and before all elbowroom is lost in the stands, there is this little matter called the 2010 season. Weird season, this one. One school of thought is that it is a balancing act type of year. The club commits to putting a good product on the field, but it does so with an eye toward 2011 instead of the wins column. Another school of thought is that the club use this season as an extended tryout for 2011. Bring in a bunch of players and let them prove their worth.

There is merit to both approaches and they don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but from my perch I see a different course of action. I’d like to see the focus be on 2010. The club has a good thing going. Last season we saw the best football played at PGE Park since the late 70s. The team was talented, they played with an entertaining style, and they won. The crowds expanded throughout the season. There was a buzz in town. It was special. And it shouldn’t stop there.

The club should be about winning. Winning today. Winning at all levels. It should use its resources to field the best teams possible at both the senior and U23 levels. It should continue to strive to be the best run club in North America. This focus will only help its longer term ambitions. Victories bring in fans. Victories bring in players. Victories can serve as a springboard to 2011.

It is early, of course, but I would say that this offseason has been nothing short of brilliant. First, the core of the 2009 team has been signed. Thirteen players are returning. Fourteen if the crazy glue holding together Cameron Knowles' leg holds up. The team that won the league remains largely intact.

Second, guys who did little or nothing last season are gone. Are you going to miss any of the following?:

Tom Poltl, Shaun Higgins, Cameron Dunn, Kevin Forrest, Antou Jallow, Brian Visser, and Takuro Nishimura.

With the exception of Nishimura, none of those guys has found a non-beer league team to play on in 2010.

The only real loss is David Hayes who was an absolute stud in 2009. Alex Nimo had his moments as well, but he was always more about potential than on the field production.

Third, the new guys who have been signed are the right mix of help-the-club-now and possibly-help-the-club-in-2011. Ian Joy and Ross Smith will likely start from day one. James Marcelin and Quavas Kirk both are young USL caliber players with MLS potential. Doug DeMartin and Derek Gaudet are young guys that add a bit of depth and who could potentially reach the next level. Matt Pyzdrowski is a cheap backup/third keeper. Adin Brown is really the only true 2011 signing. Given his injury history he is a bit of a risk, but not a huge one. He'll use this season to get healthy and to give Steve Cronin a bit of competition. If he doesn't get back into form, he'll be gone by next year. If he does get back into form, the club has a number one keeper with national team ability.

This roster wouldn't win the MLS Cup, but it doesn't have to. There won't be thirteen guys returning back next season. The roster as it stands is pretty good contender for the second division (or whatever the fuck they are calling it these days) trophy. It also has a fair number of guys who could make the leap in 2011.

Optimist: The Timbers have replaced Scot Thompson, Cameron Knowles, and David Hayes with a talented 21-year-old, an experienced pro, and a Bundesliga caliber player. Pessimist: The Timbers have replaced Scot Thompson, Cameron Knowles, and David Hayes with a young guy who grew up as an attacker, a central defender with a faulty ticker, and a player who quit his last U.S. team.
With all that he has on his plate, isn't it time that Gavin Wilkinson give up his gig as technical director of Eastside United?
Players accounting for 41 of the 45 goals scored in 2009 are signed for this season. It is an odd year in these parts when the attack is more solidified than the backline heading into the start of training camp.
With the offseason USL/NASL nonsense and the current labor situation in MLS, I continue to believe that the problem with soccer in the United States has nothing to do with a lack of fan interest or talent on the pitch, but rather with a long history of owners who simply don't get it. We are lucky to have an owner who does.
Prediction: Ian Joy's free spirited ways will make him a fan favorite and be a challenge to his control freak manager.
In a fairly stacked midfield I'm not sure if he is going to get the minutes, but I am interested in seeing how Rodrigo Lopez fares after being part of the team for a full season. The skill was evident in his brief stints in 2009, but the timing was off.
Costa Rica. Lovely beaches, a country that abolished its military, and a national soccer team that has advanced past the first round in the World Cup just once. It is an interesting location for the MLS Timbers to try to develop some partnerships. While the soccer level isn't the best, it isn't American Samoa either and the players probably don't command too large a salary. Here's where the MLS players were from last season: http://web.mlsnet.com/about/league.jsp?section=nationalities&content=map
22 players signed before March 1 has to be a club record. I wonder if the early signings have anything to do with the MLS labor situation. Could be a risky year to wait around for MLS rosters to shake out.