As I peer over my computer screen and look at the large calendar pinned to the wall, I notice two things: 1) I need to find a Valentine’s Day gift ASAP and 2) we are less than a month away from the start of the MLS season. Guess which one of those things I’m looking forward to more? But I digress.
One team that cannot wait to get the 2013 season under way is the Portland Timbers. Coming off a 2012 campaign where they finished in eighth place in the Western Conference with an 8-16-10 record, Portland wasted no time in revamping their roster. In addition to bringing in Caleb Porter as head coach, they also traded for forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Milos Kocic (both from Toronto), signed defender Ryan Miller and midfielder Diego Valeri (Designated Player), and drafted Dylan Tucker-Gangnes in the MLS SuperDraft. Let’s take a closer look at the (hopefully) new-and-improved 2013 Portland Timbers.
Goalkeeper
As I just mentioned, the Timbers traded for goalkeeper Milos Kocic in December. If the pre-season is any indication, though, it appears Donovan Ricketts is going to get the opportunity to start in net. Ricketts started the first two pre-season matches against Colorado and Sporting KC without allowing a goal. He was subbed out in the second half of both games in favor of Kocic, who allowed one goal in each game. This was no knock on Ricketts, though, as Porter subbed out the entire starting 11 in the second half of the first three pre-season games. Kocic redeemed himself a little bit in the third pre-season matchup against Seattle, where he got the start and did not allow a goal before he was replaced after halftime. Ricketts also looked very good in Jamaica’s recent draw with Mexico in their World Cup qualifier in Mexico City so it would come as a big surprise to me if Ricketts was not in net to begin the season.
Defense
At first glance, the Timbers back line looks to be much improved from 2012. Ryan Miller comes to Portland by way of Sweden’s Halmstads BK and will replace Kosuke Kimura at right back. If you’re looking for statistics on Miller, don’t bother, they don’t exist. Caleb Porter recruited Miller when Porter was an assistant at the University of Indiana in 2003. Much to Porter’s chagrin, though, Miller chose to play at Notre Dame instead. But by all accounts, Porter has kept tabs on Miller over the years and when he became available this off-season, he jumped at the opportunity to sign the 28-year old. Miller is a box-to-box type defender who likes to get involved in the attack when the opportunity presents itself. I would not expect any goals or assists from him (heck, one of either would cause me to jump for joy), but I would expect him to create a number of chances on the offensive end.
Andrew Jean-Baptiste will get the start at one of the center back positions. The second-year man started the first three pre-season games and looked much more comfortable in the back than he did in his rookie campaign, which is what one would expect. I’d also expect David Horst to continue to get starts in the other center back position, now that the Mikael Silvestre experiment is over in Portland.
One of the first acquisitions that Portland made this year was for left back Michael Harrington, whom they got in a trade with Sporting KC at the beginning of December. Harrington had been relegated to primarily a backup role in Kansas City in the last couple of years behind Seth Sinovic. There is certainly no shame in that, as Sinovic is one of the best young left backs in the league. But when he was called upon to play, Harrington was more than up for the challenge. Harrington is not the fastest defender in the league or the most physical and he doesn’t always provide the best deliveries when he gets to touch the ball on the offensive end. But the one thing that he is is a workhorse. Much like Ryan Miller on the right, Harrington is very good going box-to-box and can run all day long. He’s also very durable, as evidenced by the fact that he set the club record for minutes played in Kansas City.
Midfield
If there is one thing I am really interested in seeing, it is how Caleb Porter sets up his midfield. In a perfect world, he would like to play a 4-3-3 formation. We do not live in a perfect world, though. Bright Dike, who surely would have been one of the three starters at forward this year, went down in the second half of the Timbers’ pre-season match against Seattle and tore his left ACL. Will that injury alter Porter’s plans to run a 4-3-3 and instead go to something like a 4-4-2? That’s still to be determined, but I think that would make the most sense to go to a 4-4-2. Assuming that’s the case, here is how I think the midfield should be set up.
With the exception of Diego Valeri, the one guy I have been most impressed and surprised by this pre-season has been Sal Zizzo at right mid. The one thing I noticed in watching the pre-season games is that it seemed when Portland kept the ball, it was played in the middle to right side of the field – primarily through Valeri and Zizzo in midfield, Miller on defense, and then up top to Ryan Johnson. Zizzo did well maintaining possession and created a number of good chances, especially in the game against Sporting KC. I would like to see him start out on the right because there appears to be good chemistry with him out there.
As I mentioned, Diego Valeri to me looked like the Designated Player that everyone thought he would be. He seems very confident on the ball in the attacking mid role and looks good distributing the ball to those around him. It also didn’t hurt that he scored off a Beckham-like free kick in his first pre-season game against Colorado. The ball was just outside the 18-yard box on the left and he curled it in brilliantly at the back post. In baseball, they would call that a knee-buckler because Rapids’ keeper Matt Pickens couldn’t even move. If you haven’t had a chance to see Valeri in action yet, you will get plenty of opportunity because in addition to the offense primarily running through him, he also appears to be the one that will be taking free kicks and corners. We could see some exciting stuff off of set pieces this year.
Last year’s captain Jack Jewsbury would be a logical choice to play in the defensive midfield role. He started the first pre-season game against Colorado but came off limping, presumably due to a strained hamstring. If, for some reason, Jewsbury is not able to go for Portland, Porter might look to Diego Chara or Will Johnson to fill in at this spot.
Finally, at left mid, I would like to see Darlington Nagbe. Nagbe is a very versatile player so he can move up to play as the third forward, depending on how the game unfolds. But he is also very good in the midfield and having played for Porter at Akron, he understands the system that Porter is trying to put in place. Nagbe struggled at times last year trying to be the centerpiece of the offense so with the signing of Valeri, that should free him up and allow him to find the open space and make plays from there.
Forward
As I mentioned earlier, it looks as though Bright Dike will be on the shelf for the majority of the season. This is a devastating blow to the Timbers’ attack as Dike was having a great offseason. He got his first couple international caps for the Nigerian national team in the off-season, scoring against Catalonia in early January, and he looked to really be getting back into form for the 2013 season.
In addition to losing Dike, Portland also parted ways with striker Kris Boyd. The Scotsman still had one year remaining on his contract before he was released on February 1st. His signing actually looked like it was going to work after he scored 7 goals in the first 18 games of the 2012 season. Unfortunately for Portland, he finished the year with those same 7 goals. Or put another way, he went the final 16 games of the season without scoring. His final two goals came on July 14th, just five days after fellow Scot John Spencer was fired as head coach from the club (coincidence?). The lack of production alone was probably enough to merit Boyd’s release. But Porter also admitted that Boyd was just not a good fit for his system. Porter likes a forward who is strong, athletic, helps out on defense when the opposition has the ball, and who can create for others. This is Ryan Johnson or Bright Dike – this is not Kris Boyd. So in the end, both Boyd and the club agreed it was best for all involved to part ways.
Whether Dike or Boyd were still available for Portland, Ryan Johnson is a no-brainer to start at one of the forward positions. He is another player who has looked good this pre-season. He has had a number of good opportunities to find the back of the net, but has not quite been able to finish. Again, I don’t get too worked up about that in pre-season, but if we get 5-10 games into the regular season and haven’t seen at least a couple goals from him, I’ll begin to worry.
At the other forward spot I would like to see Jose Valencia. There is not much to go on as far as statistics go for Valencia because he missed almost all of 2012 after having knee surgery in February. He came back late in the year in a Timbers Reserves game. He began his professional career at 16 in Colombia and has played on the Colombian U-20 national team so there is definitely some talent there. Whether he can use that talent and turn it into production in MLS will be one of the challenges for Caleb Porter as a new head coach.
Expectations
So after all is said and done, what do I expect out of this team? First and foremost, I expect to see a much more controlled, fluid offense and a more solid defense. I think they’ll probably create more chances and have more opportunities to cash in. The question is whether they will be able to capitalize on those chances and that’s where I remain skeptical, especially with the loss of Dike up front. When I look at the 2013 schedule, I am expecting a point total somewhere in the 43-45 range. Last year, Vancouver made the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Western Conference with 43 points. I think Portland will be right there to the end, battling for that last playoff spot in the west.
(image courtesy of Craig Mitchelldyer)
