Note: This is the second in a two part series. Check out the First Trimester Report Card on the Timbers players here.
Coming off a midweek win against DC United, the Portland Timbers coaching staff and front office may be hoping that some of the pressure they’ve been under given recent results will be lifted. They are unlikely to be so lucky.
With the first third of the season not going the way anyone in Portland had hoped and recent results fueling the flames of Portland’s frustration, Timbers fans displayed their displeasure with the state of the club prior to Wednesday’s game against DC United. One fan raised a two-stick which read “Paulson Out,” referring to Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. In front of the Timbers Army section, a banner read “Same As It Ever Was” with the words beneath a red line, apparently referencing the Timbers position below the red line that marks the playoff cutoff in the MLS standings.
The frustration being voiced by the Timbers supporters appears to be targeted at what they perceive to be complacency on the part of the Portland Timbers front office, and will certainly be a story worth following as the season progresses. For now though, it’s time for Part Two of the Timbers First Trimester Report Card, taking a look at the performance of the Timbers coaches and front office so far this season.
Caleb Porter, Head Coach: C+
Despite Portland’s struggles on the field, Porter gets somewhat of a pass due to factors beyond his control (injuries) and factors which it his involvement in is unknown (player acquisitions). Typically, if a coach led a team to a conference title, then failed to miss the playoffs the next year and was even worse the year after, they would receive a failing grade. Porter though, has had to deal with the absence of Diego Valeri, Portland’s best and most valuable player, Will Johnson, the captain and previously ever-present rock in the midfield, and Ben Zemanski, Johnson’s backup who probably would’ve started at center midfield on most teams in MLS. Zemanski’s injury in some senses may have been the hardest to deal with, as it happened so late in pre-season, giving the team almost no time to adjust before the season started.
Early in the season, Porter was praised by many for showing tactical flexibility in adapting a more direct offensive strategy in the absence of the Timbers best midfield creator. However, the results did not follow, and Porter seemed to abandon the more direct approach after a few games. Since then, there has been an element of experimenting to find a solution from Porter, and it is difficult to really decipher if that is simply a good coach trying a few things when things are not going well, or a bit of panic. He has tried Adi alone up top, he’s tried Urutti alone up top, he’s tried them together. The Timbers have lined up with a number of different combinations in the attacking midfield, yet nothing has really worked. Simply put, the Timbers are struggling to score goals.
Perhaps the biggest criticism of Porter is how often this season his team has looked uninterested and unmotivated. Particularly in recent games against Orlando City and the Houston Dynamo the Timbers were simply dominated and the team seemed mentally not in the game. Regardless of any injuries or other circumstances, it is the coach’s job to make sure his team is mentally prepared for every game, and that doesn’t seemt to have always been the case this year.
Front Office: C-
Some may call this grade for the front office generous, given current feelings being expressed about the club, but focusing on the first trimester of this season, it seems fair. Probably the biggest failure so far this season was the decision not to bring in someone to fill in for Diego Valeri at the beginning of the season. While the front office has, correctly, pointed out that because of MLS salary restrictions a team can’t just go out and replace a player of Valeri’s quality, some attempt to add depth at that position could have been made, and no, bringing back Gaston Fernandez does not count. Anyone who watched last season would agree that Fernandez is a quality attacking player most of the time, but he’s best as more of a withdrawn forward, not the key creator in the midfield.
Perhaps the Timbers felt they couldn’t afford to replace Valeri because they needed to invest in other areas of the squad, but being in a position where player movement is limited due to limited salary cap space is one of a team’s own making, so they’ll find no relief in that claim. It’s as if the front office decided to just pray the team could stay afloat until Valeri returned, rather than try to build a team that isn’t so reliant on a single player.
A series of new signings this season have also proven to be a mixed bag so far. Goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey has been mostly solid, as has CB Nat Borchers. Fullback Jeanderson has been almost non-existent, Dairon Asprilla has shown flashes of quality but not been consistent enough, and loanee Ishmael Yartey has been a disappointment.
One thing the front office does deserve credit for is fixing the biggest problem of the 2014 season, the defense. Between last year’s signing of Liam Ridgewell and the offseason acquisitions of Borchers and Kwarasey, the defense has been massively improved, and has, unlike 2014, not been the main cause of the Timbers struggles.
Overall Team Grade: C
The Timbers as a club get a C for their first trimester of the 2015 season because it hasn’t been a complete failure, but there also has not been much to get excited about. There’s plenty of season left to make the playoffs, but if improvement doesn’t happen soon it will again be too late. There is a growing sense, based on some comments from the front office and coaching staff, that if things don’t improve, changes will be made. Maybe that extra bit of pressure will trigger a much needed sense of urgency in the Timbers players and spur them to greater things. If not, an early C could quickly turn into a failing grade.
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