A Timber Fanatacist's Guide to Soccer

Making the Grade (2022 edition):  Timbers vs. Revolution And so it begins... I just love the absoluteness of seeing that "Starting XI." It means game day is upon us, that soccer (futbol) really matters once again and, for this roster in particular, that the 2022 season is about to get underway!! If you haven't seen our bit on the pre-season thoughts, check it out here.  But moving forward, we want to provide some fan-based analysis.  The guys who call the game see what they see and the analysts look at the numbers and see what they see but what do fanatics of this team see upon our witnessing???  That is what we will share here.  By "we" I mostly mean "me" until my comrades get their collective "$hit" together.  Technically I could just cut and paste from the text string but...  ooooohhhhh!!! So I was thinking that pasting the text string would be a great way to show the backstreet driver analysis we are so very good at, but in reviewing offi

What is this???  This piece is in reaction to all of the “news” and complete lack of “analysis” coming out of the Timbers camp.  I mean seriously, I want to debate, prognosticate, learn a little, laugh a little and drink a lot (meet you at the Goose)!  Timbers’ fans deserve more than just the news, and maybe at some point my friends and fellow Timbers fanatics will pipe in and add their voices to the debate. And now for something completely different…. When Mora slotted in that game tying goal back in December, didn't it seem like that was as good as a victory??  The pent-up emotional release that ensued was deafening and shook every fan down the core of their soul...  And yes, in the end, the other team took home the trophy.  So no second star for the Portland Timbers...  And on the bright side, we have another banner to hang and that will save me some money on new gear! Photo Credit: Portland Timbers So all the pundits are giving their prognostications on where each team will fin

Who has watched Money Ball ?  Statistics don't lie, in fact, they can win you leagues and possibly championships!  So let's look at a quick stat: three games into the season and the Timbers are already at a 2-goal differential per game.  Unfortunately they are on the wrong side of that differential: Goals for = 4 (1.33/game) Goals against = 10 (3.33/game) Oh, and in case you were wondering if it was all defensive misery?  Timbers had 24 shots against Colorado; last 2 games combined???  22...  So the misery is all encompassing is it not?  So the emotion of the Adi/Powell reunion isn't the only thing bringing you to tears, right? I will say that I was NOT expecting to start this blog with the goal of seeing how many players could reach "F" status.  But a train wreck is a train wreck, and eventually it gets cleaned up and fixed and moves forward and it is still a really, really great source of conversation around the water cooler!  So let's begin that conv

For a moment there...  and I'm just saying "just for a moment"...  I felt like stepping off the barstool and peeling off my Timbers jersey.  I didn't, but boy oh boy was that uncomfortable. Playing like that in the snow is one thing, but playing in perfect soccer conditions is another and there are no weather-related gimmes in this edition! For the purpose of these musings, this game was about as crystal clear as one can get.  As mentioned already the weather was perfect, the referee didn't really miss much, the other team was playing good soccer and the Timbers... well...  let's talk about that shall we? I mean, how many of you cringed when we saw THE SAME EXACT STARTING LINE UP AS THE COLORADO DEBACLE?!?!?!? (and who ever invented the alternating question mark/exclamation point because that is a brilliant piece of punctuation!  Don't you think?) I also feel like Jeff's goalie garb looks an awful lot like what Tim Howard was wearing last week

You've seen the flakes fall, you've seen the goals scored...  Really, what a debacle.  That wasn't soccer.  That was reminiscent of a U-11 match played just because it was as much fun to slide in the snow in shorts as it was pretending you were actually playing soccer (see Feilhaber's postgame quote in @mhoff piece)... There are several other great articles on the run of play, the strategy of the game, the aftermath, etc. and so the focus here is on the tactical performance of each player.  Speaking of great articles: Six Degrees: Did we learn anything at all?  :  @cidemann Twigs: The MLS climate change edition  :  @mhoff What we'll remember  : @richardfarley But before I digress too far... Here we are, one game under the belt and a first opportunity to grade the players.  Because seriously, they deserve to be graded, right?  They get paid to play and whether or not our endless and boundless fanaticism puts them on pedestals, we still need a dose of reality.

So @StumptownFooty asked and I responded but, to be honest, this has been on my mind for the last few weeks as a missing piece of game by game analysis that would allow us to delve into each position, each player and start a conversation that maybe Gio and Gavin will end up reading (along with all your comments!). As they say, a rising tide raises all boats, so when the Timbers win, the grades might seem a little high and when they lose, vice versa.  But in general, the methodology is to start with a 'C' and then see (no pun intended) what they can do for us lately.  A mid-week game coming off a 4-game losing streak is probably as good a place to start as any... Timbers vs. FC Toronto - Wednesday, August 29, 2018 (@ Providence Park) Attinella (A) - Clean sheet, ‘nuff said. He saved what he needed to, let the woodwork save what it needed to and let the defense keep shots on goal to a minimum. Mabiala (A-) - This was his first game alongside L