well, my employers have called me to do some field work so it is a short post today. and thankfully so, because it is also a travel day for the timbers which means limited news. a brief check of the top-secret search engine i use to scour the internets for timbers information has provided me these two tasty gems: the honorable mentions for portland food carts and a mike chabala appreciation thread (as much as i like what they do over at stumptown i am not hitting that link). obviously, not much in the build-up to wednesday’s match.
it has been 7 days since perkins was traded for ricketts and 9 days since the timbers last played. in the interim perkins has won one more road win than any other timber this season, which is to say he has a road win, and the timbers are not any better off than they were before he left. in all likelihood the timbers have merely traded deck chairs on the titanic (i stole that metaphor it was so good). and until gavin is removed from the technical director position and replaced with someone who understands football and the mls, the iceberg is going to sink the ship.
currently, the timbers are the second worst team in the mls. second. they were last, so i guess there is some positive news to be had following their stunning 6 game winless streak. luckily, the timbers travel to toronto to take on the worst team in the mls. unfortunately, the timbers travel to toronto to take on the worst team in the mls. as we are all aware, the timbers much-lauded road exploits are legendary. on the road, they have accumulated 8 loses, 2 draws, and have scored two total goals while generously gifting 20goals to the home sides. the timbers have displayed an improved attack in the last two games, but this is the road.
toronto has been through a similar streak of awful, but since making the expected change at coach they have posted up numbers the timbers under the current demagogue can only aspire to recreate. june 20 marked the change for toronto when they earned a 3-3 draw against houston. following that game, toronto has posted a respectable record that includes 4 wins, 3 draws, and 3 loses. in the last 5 games played they have won 3 and lost 2. the last 5 at home they have drawn 2, won 2, and lost 1. clearly, unlike the timbers, a change in coaching philosophies has brought toronto a taste of success that eluded them earlier this season. still, toronto has been able to score 5 more goals than the timbers, which says very little for toronto given the timbers have only scored 20 goals all season.
as games go, this particular match presents the only realistic opportunity to earn a win during the remainder of the season. while toronto is on what may be called a purple patch for that organization, they are going to be without several key starters. not overlooking the loss of danny koevermans, toronto will be without terry dunfield, doneil henry, jeremy hall, ryan johnson, and darren o’dea. that means 14 goals will be missing, or, rather, the two fellas who have 14 goals between them will be missing. replacing offensive industry in a side that suffers from a lack of production rivaled only by the timbers, los bimbos, and chivas, is not easily done. even though they acquired eric hassli from vancouver the 2 goals he has scored in 19 games is neither terrifying nor should ever be.
frankly, aside from the timbers inability to do much of anything on the road, these two sides are evenly matched. i hope i am wrong, but i cannot see this ending well. i am sure magadh will have some further pre-match blag for you tomorrow.
have a great day
sunshine