I'm happy we got so far, but it shows how far we still have to go, as far as American teams.
It's still cool though. I previously thought MLS teams played in a bubble. So it's pretty cool to know we have a path to play with the rest of the world. That's fun and different from rest of major league sports.
We just need to ramp up MLS (and money to pay for top talent), and we'll get there.
I've watched 3 games this season and I don't think De Boer is your problem. Or certainly he isn't the whole problem.
Your 3 designated players (DPs, aka your highest paid players) are Josef Martinez, Pity Martinez, and Ezequiel Barco. Last year Almiron was in place of Pity. Barco now a year plus with the team has to be considered a disappointment. If not at minimum, he certainly hasn't been the playmaker they thought he'd be. Pity Martinez was the player of the year in South America (the whole continent), but has been terrible so far. If you watched tonight's game, did you notice the significant difference when he left and Villalba came in?
Having had several international players played for Portland since we've been in the league, I've noticed that it often takes a year for a player to get used to playing in MLS for a myriad reasons. And, sometimes they don't ever adjust.
I think once Barco and Pity start playing better the team will quickly improve. There are 34 league games and we're 2 in so far. The Sounders were terrible first couple months of the last 2 years and they ended up winning the cup 2 years ago and being in 2nd place in the conference last year. Fans need to learn patience IMHO...
What I read was that the new coach has changed their playing style/tactics a lot. And its getting players frustrated.
But I dont know enough about soccer strategy to validate that.
The eyeball test says they let oppenents down by the goal waaaaaay too much. And they arent in the opponents goal area enough either. Last year they were really aggressive and this year they are not.
Maybe they should have got a coach similar to their old style. I dont know.
It just seems that forcing the team to play completely different from what they are used to (and what won them the Cup) seems like a bad idea.
I'm just glad the CCL stuff is done for them, so they can focus on one league now.
Maybe that will help. Maybe they can get some more practice time and learn this new system.
I didn't watch the team enough, or don't recall enough on the tactics/style changes. My comments were based on what I've seen so far this year.
Its funny...we on this board have had conversations about players fitting into a system versus changing the system to match the players as it relates to American Football...now we're having one on World Football
Yes, that is a very nice bar. I watched Browns games there for like 10 years. Then it got sold and went down hill and I started going to the Hooters to watch Browns games. Then it got sold again and is MUCH better now. So I watch sports there again.
Its actually two stories tall and gets packed during football season.
I see you guys won, congrats. We drew tonight, but that is a pretty good result considering it was our 11th game in a row on the road and we were down 4 starters. Our new $10m guy scored in his first game, can't complain about that. I'm stoked we only have 1 more away game before we play at home, then 17 out of the last 22 are at home.
I saw a video of that goalie freak, lol. It was crazy.
One starter out due to yellow card accumulation, 3 for injury. We survived.
I'm looking forward to games, the stadium is almost done - it is great living on the 7th floor right next to it - I can see changes every day...well, not much any more since the construction is done, just the final touches (concessions, bathrooms, etc...) are in progress.
The offer to come out in August for the game here is still there, just let me know in advance and I'll score you some tickets.
Understand it isn't a huge (or new) stadium like yours. We'll be up to 25k when they re-open the stadium. I believe the original rudimentary stadium was built in the 1890s, then turned into a modern (at the time) stadium in the 1920s. It turned "soccer specific" in 2010 after we received an MLS franchise.
Here's a nice article with pictures from it's history. The last picture was the renderings of what it'll look like June 1 when it officially opens. My building is the one in the upper left in the renderings.
All that history is pretty neat. The renderings look good. You're lucky to live there. I'm envious!
Our stadium doesnt have any apartments near it. But the baseball stadium has condos that are right next to the park/part of the mini city they built.
And we lost. They had a red card and we still couldnt beat them. And there was a brawl at the end. Supposedly Orlando is our rival, but I think its the Red Bulls. These two teams do not like each other.
I saw the score. There are 34 games in a season, so one loss to a good team is not a huge deal. Our team last year is proof you just need to make the playoffs to have a chance (we were 5th in the West but made the finals).
Side note - there are a few Timbers and Thorns (Women's professional team) players that live in my building. I see a few often enough that I get a nod or "hi" or even conversation. Today heading down earlier, Tobin Heath and Christen Press were on the elevator (Tobin plays here, both play on the US National team) with a lot of luggage, presumably on the way to France for the women's world cup. I've only been speechless one other time when seeing professional athletes (I work at Nike, it is really common to see them), and that was Michael Jordan.
It was almost embarrassing. I was wearing a Thorns shirt. Either they thought I had no idea who they were or they knew I was in awe. Likely the second, because I'm sure Christen saw the double take when I saw her
