Note: This is the first in a two part series. Look for the First Trimester Report Card on the coaches and front office later this week.
A third of the way through the 2015 MLS season, it’s time for the Portland Timbers First Trimester Report Card. WIth only 13 points through 12 games and sitting tied for last in the Western Conference, the Timbers are at a critical juncture in the season. In 2014 the Timbers also had 13 points through 12 games, and despite having one of the best records in MLS from June through October, missed the playoffs. The added playoff spot this year provides a little more room for error. That said, removing Chivas USA and replacing them with Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo, two perennial playoff contenders, sort of negates the possible advantage of the extra playoff spot.
It’s not quite win or go home for the Timbers, but the team is rapidly approaching the point where the second half of this season might be more about planning for next year than fighting for a playoff spot.
So, without further ado, here’s the Timbers first trimester report card, by position:
Goalkeeping: B-
Newcomer Adam Kwarasey has been solid, if unspectacular for the most part in the first third of the season. He’s had a few shaky moments and allowed a few goals he probably could have kept out, but for the most part he’s been reliable when called upon.
With the exception of last weekend against Toronto FC though, Kwarasey really hasn’t stepped up to keep the Timbers in a game on his own. Sunday he made a few huge saves to keep the Timbers in the game, particularly down the stretch as Portland fought for an equalizer which never came.
Defense: B+
This one was a bit more difficult. The Timbers defense is MUCH improved over 2014, allowing 1.08 goals per game, good for seventh best in MLS this season. That said, there have still been moments of absolute calamity.
Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgewell stepped up when needed on almost every occasion, with a couple notable exceptions, but compared to last year’s start to the season, it’s a major improvement.
The fullbacks, Alvas Powell and Jorge Villafaña, have been okay for the most part, though their contributions on the offensive side of the ball have been lacking. While there have actually been moments when Powell has looked like Portland’s most creative player, his decision making in the final third is questionable. This may be a tactical switch, in an effort to be more solid defensively than last year when they often pushed forward with no hesitation, but the balance between attacking and defending isn’t there.
Midfield: C+
The Timbers midfield gets a C+ because for the most part they’ve been solid defensively. They’ve coped fairly well with the absence of Will Johnson and the absence of his backup, Ben Zemanski. Jack Jewsbury has filled in fairly well and he and Diego Chara have been solid in front of the back line with the exception a couple occasions on which they’ve simply been run over (see: May 16 at Houston for a recent example).
On the attacking side, things have been bad. While fans around the league raved about the performance of Darlington Nagbe early in the year, the end product just isn’t there. While he has created 26 chances, good for eighth in the league, he has only one assist, no goals, and just four shots on target. Say what you want about Nagbe doing all the little things, and those little things are greatly appreciated, but when a team’s most talented attacker available has only four shots on target and only one assist there’s a problem.
Nagbe may not prefer to be the main goalscorer, and he doesn’t have to be, but this current Timbers roster requires him to contribute in that area. The lack of assists isn’t completely his fault, as an assist requires another player to finish a chance created, but the number should still be higher. He has been a key part of a team who’s expected goals is 1.1 per game according to American Soccer Analysis, a stat which puts the Timbers solidly mid-table, but the expectations in Portland are higher.
Other midfielders, most notably Rodney Wallace, Dairon Asprilla, and Gaston Fernandez, have been performing well below expectations, and Ishmael Yartey, brought in on loan to add to the attack, has done virtually nothing.
Valeri and Johnson get an incomplete because of their lack of minutes.
Forwards: D
When a team’s expected goals for is 1.1 per game and it’s actual goals scored is 0.8 per game it means the team isn’t finishing chances. Such is the production from the Timbers forwards this season.
Have the Timbers forwards been a complete failure this season? No. Have they lived up to expectations? Not even close. Fanendo Adi is a designated player striker with four goals in 12 matches. Maxi Urruti last year was viewed as one of the most talented young forwards in the league. He has one goal this year. Beyond the goals even, the forwards, Adi especially, just aren’t playing well.
Adi appears to have no confidence and it’s impacting not only his goal scoring, but his overall play. Plenty of strikers are streaky, but the good ones find ways to contribute even when they’re not scoring. For Adi, when his confidence goes, everything goes, and for a DP that’s not acceptable.
Even last season, when Adi was supposedly in better form, his nine goals came in just five of the 24 matches he appeared in. Whether it’s scoring or other ways of contributing, the Timbers simply need Adi to be consistent, and he isn’t.
