Portland Timbers

In its inaugural season, the Portland-Seattle rivalry is already the best in the MLS, by a wide margin.

The animosity between these two teams goes all the way back to their NASL days in the mid-seventies. There's also a natural, well, hatred between the two cities. Seattle is now known as a haven for mis-placed Californians and east coasters looking to cash in on Amazon and Microsoft stock (although Microsoft stock isn't what it once was).

Portland, on the other hand, does everything to stick to its roots and not sell out. The city slogan, "Keep Portland Weird", is a perfect embodiment of that philosophy.

Even the supporters of the two clubs are different. Sounder supporters tend to look like a bunch of geeks who got lost on their way to a Star Trek convention. Portland supporters look like they stumbled out of bar, got a tattoo, and then decided to go to a soccer game.

So, when they meet for the second time this year, it's not just bragging rights on the line, it's a clash of two cultures.

It's new-money materialism versus good, old fashioned bohemianism.

In their first clash in Seattle, Portland, undoubtedly, got the better of the two with a tie on enemy soil. Let's face it, for the Timbers to get a point in their inaugural season was a victory in itself.

Since then, however, the Timbers have gone 1-5-1 while the Sounders going 5-1-3. They are two clubs heading in opposite directions.

The Sounders are, perhaps, the hottest club in the league while the Timbers are in the midst of a losing streak they just can't seem to snap.

Many are already predicting a Seattle victory, even in noisy Portland Stadium. Yes, the crowd will make a difference, but after a 5-0 start that made national headlines, the Timbers have gone 0-3-1 at their stadium. 

So much for the home field advantage.

Yet, in the face of such dire circumstances, there is hope for the Timbers to leave with three points after Sunday's game.

The first thing that must be said is that the Timbers slide isn't nearly as bad as it seems. They flat-out outplayed Colorado and New York and deserved to walk away with six points (rather than one). They gave up a goal within the last ten seconds of each game (something I've never seen at the professional level).

Against Chivas they played very well but were done in by world-class saves from the Chivas keeper. Even against D.C. United, they gave up a weak penalty when Diego Chara slid into the ball and inadvertently committed a hand ball.

They could very easily be 5-2 during this stretch.

If they play like they did against New York, this team can beat anyone in the MLS.

Simple as that.

So, let's start with the changes that I would make. Namely, bench Diego Chara. He's completely ineffective as a central and holding midfielder. Put Captain Jack Jewsbury in his position with Kalif Alhassan at a more attacking midfield position with Sal Zizzo and Darlington Nagbe playing the wings.

Jewsbury will bring some much needed leadership to the defensive end. As far as I'm concerned, the play of the defense is everything that's wrong with the team right now. They just give up way too many bone-headed goals.

Next, play Kenny Cooper facing the goal rather than continually looking to post-up. He's not a post-up player. As I've said before, go back and look at how Dallas played him. He's at his best when he's dropping back to the end of the penalty area and looking for rebounds or passes from penetrating forwards or midfielders. He doesn't have great dribbling skills, but he knows how to find space and make a crack at goal. Let him find that space and serve him the ball.

The midfielders must do one thing, and that's attack, attack, attack! Start making daring runs at the Seattle defenders. This goes for the likes of Futty Dunso as well. Kansas City had some amazing runs from their backfield that continually confused the Portland defense all night. It's time to start blitzing. Alhassan, in particular, has the technical skills to carve up the Seattle defense. If he can penetrate, and look for Cooper, Jewsbury, and Nagbe on the edges of the penalty area, that could be dangerous.

Perlazza is a great counter-attacking player and should have had two goals against Colorado on breakaways. Keep trying to find him on counter-attacks and allow him to beat defenders.

I don't know what to say about our defense other than it's a mess. They are continually out of position. What's worse, many of them are caught watching the ball while a midfielder makes a run behind them. How do you teach that at this level? I teach eighth graders that know better than to ball-watch.

I'd say it will help to get to an early lead, and it might, but Portland's problem all season has been maintaining composure until the final whistle. Against New York, they had a 3-1 lead with twenty minutes left and still managed to tie at 3-3. They just don't have any depth on the bench.

The good news is that the defense played a brilliant stretch and had clean sheets against Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia, and Columbus. They need to find that level of focus.

The simple fact is that this is a test. Can Portland show composure and win the biggest game of the season, and really start to turn their season around? If they play like they did against New York, then they absolutely can.

It only took 15 years for the brain-trust at MLS to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the pulse of soccer in North America. As I stated in a previous article, Portland, Vancouver and Seattle are putting an excitement into the MLS that it's never really experienced before.

It wasn't Freddie Adu, Landon Donovan, David Beckham or Thierry Henry that infused a surge of electricity throughout Major League Soccer—it's been done by rabid fans in the rainiest and grayest part of the country.

The question is, what does the MLS do from here?

Try as they might, Los Angeles and New York are not the answer to increasing revenue and fan attendance. Those are big-market cities, but the interest in both cities pales in comparison to interest in other sports.

So, for those interested, here is a primer for how MLS can continue to increase interest throughout North America and the world.

First, move the moribund franchises.

Sorry Chicago, Chivas and New England, but you've got to move. You've had your chance, and failed miserably. It's embarrassing for all involved to continually watch empty stadiums with the lonely echo of one guy blowing a vezuvela in the background.

Get into cities that will appreciate a professional soccer team. With Montreal and (probably) New York slated for the next franchises, there are probably a few cities that would do well with an MLS team to call their own.

Sacramento is the first one that comes to mind. With the Kings probably leaving town, the city is left with zero professional teams. They've got a huge Latino population and a natural rivalry with San Jose.

San Diego is another southern California possibility. They also have a massive Latino population and a natural rivalry with the Dodgers.

On the other side of the country, Miami and, yes, New Orleans would be ideal MLS candidates for a team.

Yes, Miami failed badly with their first MLS franchise, the Miami Fusion. But, MLS has come a long way since then. A diversified and international community makes it perfect for a soccer team.

New Orleans has no baseball team and, really, little competition during the MLS season. Again, they've got an international community and a very rabid fan base.

Next, start bringing in better players. This will only happen one way—with money! MLS stadiums are starting to fill up and TV ratings are improving.

Below is an average player salary for each team in MLS, as reported by the Associate Press, via AOL Sporting News. (New York and Los Angeles are higher due to the salaries of Thierry Henry and David Beckham, respectively.)

New York Red Bulls—$446,570

Los Angeles Galaxy—$428,265

Chicago Fire—$154,669

Toronto FC—$142,081

Real Salt Lake—$135,306

Philadelphia Union—$131,876

Vancouver Whitecaps—$123,133

Seattle Sounders—$119,504

Houston Dynamo—$118,484

New England Revolution—$118,367

Sporting Kansas City—$115,206

D.C. United—$114,639

FC Dallas—$113,627

Columbus Crew—$111,996

Colorado Rapids—$105,769

San Jose Earthquakes—$100,399

Chivas USA—$99,673

Portland Timbers—$94,734

Here are some highlights of the new MLS rules and regulations for the 2011 season.

• A team's roster can be made up of 30 players. They are eligible to be selected to the 18-player team for each game.

• The salary cap will be $2,675,000 per team, not counting the extra salary of designated players. Players in the first 20 roster spots will count against the cap.

• The maximum budget charge for any one player is $335,000.

• A designated player counts $335,000 against a team's cap. However, if a player joins his team in the middle of the season, the charge against the budget will be $167,500.

• Players who are in the roster spots from 21-30 will not count against a team's cap. They will be known as off-budget players. Generation Adidas players are off-budget players and not counted against the cap.

Now, those of you following European football are probably wondering what the heck all of this means. What is a salary cap? What is a maximum budget charge per player?

It's sanity, that's what it is. It's a way for teams to play on level playing fields and ensure a highly competitive league.

It just needs to increase.

With the increased stadiums, television ratings and buzz that's heading MLS's way, they need to start allowing teams to spend. Keep the current structure in place, just increase the salary cap by about $3.5 million.

Will that extra money attract Steven Gerrard or Lionel Messi? Absolutely not.

But it will attract many first-division players from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Columbia and, outside of England, most of the European countries.

The simple fact is that the overall level of play in the MLS needs to go up, and teams need money to start to field entire teams of quality (not just a few players). If the quality of league play goes up, American players will be so inclined to stick around, rather than ply their trade in Europe.

I don't know about the strategy of signing up star players beyond their prime (see Thierry Henry and David Beckham). Yes, it gives the league some credibility and, I'll be honest, seeing Henry playing in the flesh was completely awesome. But, they cost too damn much. And, it perhaps gives the league the image of a retirement home for aging soccer players (not the kind of image it should promote).

MLS teams are starting to make money and they need to re-invest in their product. This should be aimed at increasing the overall play of MLS clubs, and that can't be accomplished by splashing all your salaries on one or two players. The teams must be 11 or 12 deep.

I'd love to see MLS teams entered in the Copa Libertadores—it would offer players a chance to compete with other extremely good clubs from the likes of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

In fact, this is a must for MLS.

It would also be a massive attraction for players that might otherwise stay in Europe, but resigned to play for middle-level clubs. Let's face it, Fulham or Sevilla are never going to make the Champions League, but players on those clubs might be stars in the MLS and have an opportunity to compete in the Copa Libertadores. It's an incentive.

I really am starting to wonder if we won't see a shift in the next five years to more and more competition in North and South America from Europe.

With the Brazilian economy shifting, it might be possible for the Brazilian clubs to keep more and more of their stars (such as Ganso and Neymar) while increasing the attraction of the domestic leagues.

Losers of five of their last six games, with a tie to New York as the lone bright spot, the Portland Timbers are nursing a losing streak that is in danger of turning into a hemorrhaging gusher.

For the second week in a row, they just played badly, against Sporting Kansas City. Giving up two easy goals in the first twenty minutes before losing 2-1. The lone bright spot was a goal by Darlington Nagbe in the 44th minute that might go down as the goal of the year. Absolutely brilliant strike in the top-left shelf after he juggled it twice on his right foot. That goal alone had Portland stadium rocking, after many of the crowd had actually started to boo the Timbers.

Portland is unimaginative right now. They're playing scared on defense. They're not making creative or hard runs. They're not running at the defense.

John Spencer, trying to infuse some life into the club, benched both Kenny Cooper and Jeremy Hall in favor of Eddie Johnson and Steve Purdy, respectively.

With Seattle coming to down next weekend, this was a game the Timbers had to win to gain some kind of momentum going into their biggest match of the year. Instead, there seems to be a pall over the club and fans, as if they've accepted their fate.

I was afraid of this kind of letdown after the Colorado and New York games. The boys played their hearts out, only to lose to Colorado and tie to New York in the closing seconds of injury time. Those kinds of losses don't go away quickly or easily.

The Timbers defense' is so bad right now, I don't think they can stop anyone. They were continually confused on Kansas City's run, not communicating, stand flat-footed, and not marking tightly. Aurelien Collin, the right back for Kansas City, continually ran up the wing and found blankets of space for devastating crosses. Three or four times Kansas City could have easily scored. 

This defense has now given up eight goals in their last three games.

In the midfield, I would shake things up a bit. They should bench Diego Chara, as he doesn't contribute anything. Put Captain Jack Jewsbury in a defensive midfielding position. Perhaps he continue infuse some leadership in the defense. Move Kalif Alhassan to an attacking midfield position and have Sal Zizzo and Nagbe on the wings.

I'd almost given up on Nagbe until last night's strike—simply amazing. The word out of the Timbers' camp is that Nagbe has tons of talent, he just hasn't been showcasing it in games.

I can't be too hard on the strikers. First, someone needs to explain to Spencer that Cooper is not a post-up player. Yes, he's 6'3", 210 lbs., but he plays much better facing the goal.

Go and watch some tape of his days at FC Dallas to see how he played. Jorge Perlaza has speed to burn, and he's making good runs, but he's a counter-attacking player, and the other players need to start looking for him immediately upon a turnover. He almost looks lost in a half court offense.

But let's face it, the service has been awful and who else do the Timbers have to replace Cooper and Perlaza? Johnson looked very average and Ryan Pore just looks overmatched in MLS. I don't know, maybe you do give Pore a starting shot to see what he can do. He does make sneaky little runs that the Timbers are sorely missing right now.

The losing streak will be forgotten if the Timbers can get by Seattle. It's the game everyone cares about. I have no idea how Spencer infuses confidence into this team? How does he get them back to playing like they did against New York and Colorado?

Freddy Adu.

The prodigal son of the MLS.

"The next Pele."

Perhaps his name should now be "Icarus."

Adu, at 14 years old, was proclaimed the future of US soccer. He was drafted first in the MLS Superdraft by D.C. United. He did commercials with Pele.

He floundered.

The last seven years have not been kind to Adu. He's been on seven different teams during that time, finally ending up in Turkish second division club Caykur Rizespor. He was long-thought to be an outcast to the US national team and hadn't played for the national team since 2009.

The whispers and rumors about his downfall could be heard amongst those "in the know" in the soccer community.

Adu was a headcase. A prima donna. A diva who refused to work hard and expected things to come easy for him.

When coach Bob Bradley included him on the US national team for the 2001 Gold Cup, more than a few eyebrows were raised. MLS didn't even want anything to do with him.

Then came last Sunday's came against Mexico. You could call it redemption for Adu. You could call it a comeback.

He was far and away the best player on the American team.

He displayed the quickness and creativity that caught the eyes of soccer scouts almost eight years ago. He ran at the defense and found pockets of space. He made outstanding passes.

Here was, finally, the player we all thought Adu could be.

Bradley proclaimed that Adu had grown up—that he was impressed that Adu was willing to linger in Turkey's second division and work hard and be humble. Adu even did a self-professed Twitter ban.

So, the question is: What's next for Adu?

I don't think he's ready for any of Europe's top divisions, and I don't know he'll ever be that player. He's still young, at 21, but he hasn't proved himself anywhere, unless you count a relatively prosperous streak at Real Salt Lake in 2007.

The MLS is where Adu should be—if they'll have him back.

Adu burned so many bridges with the MLS brain-trust it wouldn't surprise me if they had pictures of him on their toilet paper.

The simple fact is that the MLS makes the most sense for Adu. It's a competitive league, and certainly better than Turkey's second division. But it's not so competitive as La Liga or the Premiership. He would playing at home, and, best of all, he would be under the watchful eye of the US soccer federation for the national team.

It's time for Adu to accept the fact he'll never be the "second coming of Pele," but he could be a very good American player for years to come.

Thus, the Portland Timbers are the perfect place for him.

The Timbers are the hottest show in the MLS right now. Their stadium is sold out and their fans are rabid. It's a wonderful atmosphere.

The Portland media are almost contrite in their treatment of Timbers players.

Best of all, Portland needs a play-making central mid-fielder. Diego Chara just isn't working out.

Adu could provide that spark of creativity missing from Portland's mid-field. Adu and Kalif Alhassan could create a potent combination. Kenny Cooper would love to have Adu's service.

This, of course, all depends on the "new and improved Freddy Adu." If it's the old Freddy Adu, then don't waste anyone's time. The last thing the Timbers require right now is a decisive voice in the locker room.

I'm not sure about Adu's contract. I don't think it would be difficult to get him.

The fact is that America is about second—and third, and fourth—chances, and Adu deserves his.

John Spencer, the coach of the Timbers, would be perfect for Adu. He's no-nonsense and doesn't accept excuses for laziness. If Adu wasn't cutting it, Spencer wouldn't hesitate to bench him.

It's an experiment that could work for everyone involved.

It only took the executives at MLS 12 years to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the hotbed, and future, of soccer in America.

Yes, 2009 was when the revitalized Seattle Sounders joined the league to sold-out stadiums and rabid fans. Rather than watching thousands of empty seats in Chicago or New England, Qwest Field was continually sold out and the fans, well, were fanatical about their team.

In 2011, the Portland Timbers upped the ante by selling out every game of their inaugural 2011 season. Although not the size of Qwest Field, at 18,000 plus, Jeld-Wen field is still plenty big for the MLS.

The Timbers fans are even more rabid, and more obsessed, than their counterparts up the I-5. Watch one of the Timbers' games on TV and you would swear you were watching Liverpool in Anfield. The Timbers are, without a doubt, the biggest thing in Portland right now. How many other US cities can say that about their soccer team?

Also in 2011, the Vancouver Whitecaps joined MLS to sold-out stadiums. Yes, Canadians are by their nature more congenial, but their sold-out games have generated a great buzz in Vancouver, B.C.

The fact is that the Seattle-Portland rivalry is the best in the MLS—by a very, very wide margin.

The heartbeat of English soccer runs through Liverpool and Manchester—the American game runs through Portland and Seattle.

It's amazing that it took the so-called "experts" to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the best place for soccer in America. If they would have looked at the old Sounders-Timbers-Whitecaps rivalries from the NASL in the 1970s and 1980s, they would have understood the deep roots of the game in the land of the evergreens.

I don't know why soccer is so massive in the PNW. Maybe it's the weather. Perhaps this much rain makes people want to kick something. Maybe it's the fact that there's much less competition from other sports. We don't have the baseball tradition in the East Coast or the obsession with American football in the Midwest and South.

Yes, they want soccer to be massive on the East Coast and in southern California. They want those television markets in Los Angeles and New York. The two soccer figureheads in the MLS, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, both play in Los Angeles and New York, respectively.

Heck, most people in the United States probably can't even find Oregon on a map, much less Canada.

The US soccer federation still hasn't learned from MLS mistakes. How many US soccer tournament games have been scheduled in the Pacific Northwest in the past few years?

That would be zero.

Apparently the higher ups would rather see a half-empty stadium at Ford Field in Detroit than a packed, crazy house at Jeld-Wen.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Wasn't it wonderful watching the US and Mexico play to a packed house in the Rose Bowl? Oh, that's right, a good 80 percent of the fans were rooting for Mexico. Oops.

That wouldn't happen at Qwest. You'd get a packed house rooting for the red, white and blue. No doubt.

Heck, they should have just scheduled the game in Mexico City.

It's embarrassing watching our home country being drowned out by visiting fans—even if those fans are from our neighbor down south.

Why is this so hard to figure out? All the energy in the MLS right now is coming from the Northwest. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver have ignited a fire that, quite frankly, the league has been waiting for since its inception.

It's not just the MLS—the amateur soccer in the PNW is, without a doubt, the best in the country. Every town and city has competitive and traveling teams. Dozens of soccer camps and clinics are held every summer.

Nike and Adidas both call Oregon their home.

The University of Portland, University of Washington and University of Oregon are all very good with the respective soccer programs.

Figure it out.

It only took the executives at MLS 12 years to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the hotbed, and future, of soccer in America.

Yes, 2009 was when the revitalized Seattle Sounders joined the league to sold-out stadiums and rabid fans. Rather than watching thousands of empty seats in Chicago or New England, Qwest Field was continually sold out and the fans, well, were fanatical about their team.

In 2011, the Portland Timbers upped the ante by selling out every game of their inaugural 2011 season. Although not the size of Qwest Field, at 18,000 plus, Jeld-Wen field is still plenty big for the MLS.

The Timbers fans are even more rabid, and more obsessed, than their counterparts up the I-5. Watch one of the Timbers' games on TV and you would swear you were watching Liverpool in Anfield. The Timbers are, without a doubt, the biggest thing in Portland right now. How many other US cities can say that about their soccer team?

Also in 2011, the Vancouver Whitecaps joined MLS to sold-out stadiums. Yes, Canadians are by their nature more congenial, but their sold-out games have generated a great buzz in Vancouver, B.C.

The fact is that the Seattle-Portland rivalry is the best in the MLS—by a very, very wide margin.

The heartbeat of English soccer runs through Liverpool and Manchester—the American game runs through Portland and Seattle.

It's amazing that it took the so-called "experts" to figure out that the Pacific Northwest is the best place for soccer in America. If they would have looked at the old Sounders-Timbers-Whitecaps rivalries from the NASL in the 1970s and 1980s, they would have understood the deep roots of the game in the land of the evergreens.

I don't know why soccer is so massive in the PNW. Maybe it's the weather. Perhaps this much rain makes people want to kick something. Maybe it's the fact that there's much less competition from other sports. We don't have the baseball tradition in the East Coast or the obsession with American football in the Midwest and South.

Yes, they want soccer to be massive on the East Coast and in southern California. They want those television markets in Los Angeles and New York. The two soccer figureheads in the MLS, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, both play in Los Angeles and New York, respectively.

Heck, most people in the United States probably can't even find Oregon on a map, much less Canada.

The US soccer federation still hasn't learned from MLS mistakes. How many US soccer tournament games have been scheduled in the Pacific Northwest in the past few years?

That would be zero.

Apparently the higher ups would rather see a half-empty stadium at Ford Field in Detroit than a packed, crazy house at Jeld-Wen.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Wasn't it wonderful watching the US and Mexico play to a packed house in the Rose Bowl? Oh, that's right, a good 80 percent of the fans were rooting for Mexico. Oops.

That wouldn't happen at Qwest. You'd get a packed house rooting for the red, white and blue. No doubt.

Heck, they should have just scheduled the game in Mexico City.

It's embarrassing watching our home country being drowned out by visiting fans—even if those fans are from our neighbor down south.

Why is this so hard to figure out? All the energy in the MLS right now is coming from the Northwest. Portland, Seattle and Vancouver have ignited a fire that, quite frankly, the league has been waiting for since its inception.

It's not just the MLS—the amateur soccer in the PNW is, without a doubt, the best in the country. Every town and city has competitive and traveling teams. Dozens of soccer camps and clinics are held every summer.

Nike and Adidas both call Oregon their home.

The University of Portland, University of Washington and University of Oregon are all very good with the respective soccer programs.

Figure it out.

What to say about the Portland Timbers in their inaugural MLS season?

At 5-7-3, they currently stand at seventh place in the western conference with 18 points in 15 games played.They are nursing a rough patch of 4 losses in their past 5 games, and are still winless on the road.

Those are the negatives.

The positives are that they could easily be doing much, much better. The Timbers have, until their recent setback against Dallas, played inspired and creative soccer. They completely dominated the New York Red Bulls and Colorado Rapids, and it was only dumb luck they didn't win those games.

Take some of the bad fortune that has come the Timber's way in the last few games.

Against the Red Bulls, the Timbers were up 3-2 in injury time when Rodney Wallace inexplicably commits a handball in his penalty area with literally ten seconds left on the clock. New York completes the PK and gets a point.

The Colorado Rapids scored on a set piece with, again, ten seconds left on the clock in injury time. This after the Timbers failed to score on numerous opportunities and dominate possession.

They have converted just one out of four penalty kick opportunities this season.

Kenny Cooper might be the unluckiest player in MLS. In 15 games he only has netted three goals. But, that number could easily be nine or ten goals. He's had four goals, at my count, nullified due to offsides. Goalkeepers seem to turn into the second coming of Peter Schmeickel when he's shooting and have made world-class saves on four or five balls that should have gone in. He could have easily had a hat rick in the Chivas game, but came up empty.

Jorge Perlazza has had three breakaways in the last three games where he was one-on-one with the keeper and failed to score on any of them.

In games against D.C. United and New York, the opposing sides were awarded penalty kicks when Timber players committed hand balls inside their own penalty area. Both penalties were critical to the outcome. I don't think I've ever seen this happen to a professional team.

Unfortunately for Portland, they do play in the western conference. If they were in the eastern conference, they would be in 5th place with 2 games in hand behind 4th place Houston.

This looks like a team with a lot of talent, surprisingly so, but just doesn't quite believe in itself. I do wonder if they need a true Captain, who has been through all of the battles and has a cool head under pressure.

The Flounders, to their credit, have Kasey Keller with years of World Cup experience—and years of playing in the premiership. New York, or course, has Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. Los Angeles has Landon Donovan.

Does Portland need that Talisman, that leader who can keep the ship calm under fire?

That said, below is my assessment of the Timbers after 15 games.

Forwards: I just can't knock Perlazza and Cooper too much. Cooper's work rate is immense every game and, again, it's bad luck he hasn't netted nine or ten balls. He leads the team with 34 shots and 12 shots on goal.

Perlazza is making outstanding runs behind the defense and has great pace—he just needs to convert. I'd like to see him take more shots, as he's only taken 18 all season. A forward needs to shoot the ball!

Mid-Field: Jack Jewsbury is without a doubt the MVP thus far in the season. He's calm, steady and might be the best set-piece taker in the league. He leads the team with four goals and six assists.

Kalif Alhassan has been a find at right mid-field and has five assists. He has outstanding dribbling skills and seems to find pockets of space. He was really running at defenses to start the season and I'd like to see him be more aggressive. He can light up most fullbacks when given the chance.

If there is a player that I'm most disappointed with it's Diego Chara, their central mid-fielder and lone designated player. He has zero points and zero assists in the season. I just haven't seen enough of him to warrant his salary and the designated player tag.

He isn't the play maker that I thought he'd be and he doesn't run at the defenses. He doesn't stop a lot of counter attacks and organize the mid-field. I know he did great playing in Columbia for Deportes Tolima. So, it could be he's adjusting to playing for a new team—in a new country with a different language.

On the other side, Darlington Nagbe hasn't done much to warrant his selection in the MLS Superdraft. He's a serviceable but unspectacular player with no assists or goals. He's now splitting time with Sal Zizzo, who has a bit more pace up and down the wing.

On the defensive side, Troy Perkins has been an outstanding pick-up and is a top class keeper. Eric Brunner is a very good central defender. Rodney Wallace and Jeremy Hall are sometimes good, and sometimes completely unreliable on the wings. "Futty" Dunso plays alongside Brunner in the middle and, again, is sometimes outstanding and sometimes unfocused.

I don't know how good this defense is.

They've had clean sheets against the likes of Columbus, Philadelphia and Real Salt Lake. They've had very, very solid performances against Seattle, Colorado and Chivas.

Then again, they've imploded against New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and D.C. United.

In the past two games they've given up seven goals, and haven't had a clean sheet in almost a month.

Against Dallas they gave up two opening goals off of corner kicks!

This seems like a very young team (which it is) that is having trouble with composure and consistency. They are still learning how to play together.

The defense's focus in the latter part of games is absolutely terrible. They've given up so, so many late game goals, and it just can't continue. They must learn how to maintain focus and deal with pressure until the final whistle.

Otherwise, there's a lot to like about this team. They are much, much better than I thought they would be for an expansion club.

I think coach John Spencer is excellent and the exact type of coach this team requires. He's intense and positive (for the most part), and keeps working with the boys to keep their head's up.

If the team can play like they did against New York and Colorado, then undoubtedly good things will start happening.

I'm going to have a heart attack watching the Timbers.

For the second time in two weeks, they played their best soccer of the season—only to lose their composure in stoppage time.

Last week it was a heart-wrenching loss to Colorado on the last play in injury time. This time it was a handball in their box by Rodney Wallace that led to a PK for the New York Red Bulls, and a tie.

The fact is that the Timbers outplayed what many consider to be the best team in the MLS.

In the first half they went down 0-1 in the 4th minute. Thierry Henry worked with Dwayne De Rosario on a 1-2-3 that ended with Austin De Luz putting it in the net.

Although down, the Timbers kept their composure and displayed something they'd been lacking all season - patience. They worked the ball in the backfield and waited for openings and lines to show up in the mid-field and forward runs. They didn't have a great look at goal in the first half, but they dominated possession and showed poise.

In the second half, they flat-out exploded.

In the 47th minute, Jack Jewsbury nailed a line drive into goal to tie it a 1-1. Only two minutes later, Jewsbury put in a perfect set piece cross to Eric Brunner, who headed it to Kevin Goldwaithe for an easy goal.

Timbers up 2-1. It only got better from there.

The Timbers continued to put massive amounts of pressure on the Red Bulls. At one point Henry could be seen screaming at his team to remain poised. The Timbers had numerous set piece chances, as well as a couple of break aways.

In the 58th minute, ex-Timber Stephen Keel put in an own goal on a break away by Jorge Perlazza, and Portland went up 3-1.

It looked to be over until none other than Thierry Henry took matters into his own hands. Just minutes later he blasted a left foot shot passed Troy Perkins.

Timbers were up 3-2 and could have put the game away when the Red Bulls keeper, Greg Sutton, took down Perlazza on yet another Timber's breakaway.

It was up to Captain Jack Jewsbury to ice the game with a PK.

And he missed.

That act gave New York their needed second wind. They put pressure on in the closing minutes, but looked sure to lose the game...until the inexplicable happened.

In the final ten seconds, Kevin Goldwaithe went from hero to goat when he completely mishandled a deep ball from New York.

Rather than merely kick it into the stands, which would have run out the clock and given Portland the win, he flubbed it and gave it to a New York player, who kicked it to absolutely nobody in the box. The ball was going into purgatory when, inexplicably, Rodney Wallace stuck out his hand to stop it.

Unreal.

Rightfully, a penalty kick was called, and De Rosario calmly kicked it in the back of the net for the tie.

Lost in all the action was Henry getting sent off with a red card for fighting—with just two minutes left in the game. Still not sure it was deserved, as I didn't see anything.

What can I say?

The Timber's played outstanding and wonderful ball. They completely outplayed New York and deserved three points, just as they deserved three points against Colorado last week.

What's going on with this team? Why do they completely lose composure and focus in stoppage time?

For the second time in a week, I left the stadium with a lump in my stomach. Exhausted. Drained. Wondering what it will take for this team to get on-track.

Undoubtedly they missed Futty Danso in the central defense. That was the main thing I noticed—the defense looked massively unorganized at all times.

Sure, detractors will point out that New York was missing five players for the Gold Cup. I don't care. They still had De Rosario and Henry, and that should be enough.

It will be interesting to see how Portland comes back from this game. They were oh so close to beating arguably the best team in MLS. They haven't had a win in 4 games and they desperately need to get back on track.

It was refreshing to see Perlazza make some breathtaking runs. Now if he could just score on a break away.

Kenny Cooper continues to find the back of the net, although after he's been whistled for off-sides. Seriously, he's had three goals nullified in the last three games due to offsides.

Alhassan looked much, much more dangerous in mid-field.

It's the mid-point in the season. If the Timbers continue to play like this, undoubtedly they'll break through and start to win some games.

Fun stuff to watch, just wish we could have come away with a win rather than a tie.

Mama told me there would be games like this.

After two lackluster losses against the likes of Chivas USA and D.C. United, the Portland Timbers returned home on Saturday night to host the Colorado Rapids. Their form in recent games has been lackluster, to say the least. They have seemed resolved to play the long ball and completely ignored any kind of midfield play.

On Saturday, they put in their best showing of the season.

All night they worked the way around the midfield, finally allowing Diego Chara to make some plays and allowing Kalif Alhassan to finally make some of those breathtaking runs he displayed early in the season. The defense, midfield and forwards all worked together to put together numerous passes and opportunities.

Man, oh man, did they have opportunities to score.

Jorge Perlaza had two breakaways against the Colorado keeper and failed to find the mark both times. Kenny Cooper had a beautiful turn and strike in the box that was head for goal and somehow Matt Pickens, the Colorado keeper, managed to get a glove on it. It was a world-class save that should have gone in for a goal.

Ryan Pore, last year's MVP of the UCL, came into the game in the 72nd minute and had two wonderful opportunities as well. The first was an open header in front of the goal that he cleared way wide, and the second was a wide open net that he shanked upwards.

In spite of those two miscues, it was far and away Pore's best showing of the season. He continually found space and made nice runs behind the defense.

Colorado was at their most dangerous on set pieces and had some nice opportunities on corners throughout the night. But, let's face it, the Timbers dominated this match and should have come away with three points. They played their hearts out. The fact is that soccer, like life, is unfair.

The Timbers now face a very tough New York Red Bulls team on Sunday at home. it will be up to coach John Spencer to keep their spirits high.

What to say about the recent form of the Portland Timbers?

That it's no accident.

There's a big, big secret that's not so big anymore. That is the midfield play, or lack thereof, of the Timbers. It's a weakness so glaring that it's simply affecting every facet of the team.

The keeper, Troy Perkins, seemingly has no choice but to play the long ball every possession. The defense very rarely plays into to midfield, electing to try and kick it to the top two very lonely forwards—Perlaza and Cooper.

On paper, at least, the Timbers should have a very stable midfield with Alhassan, Jewsbury, Nagbe and Chara (although Sal Zisso has been starting in place of Nagbe the last two games). The class of the midfield seems to be Jewsbury, who is outstanding at possession and set pieces, and Alhassan, a very nice playmaker with great pace.

Nagbe did seem lost quite a few times and out of position, and it wasn't surprising that Zisso replaced him. Zisso did make some nice wing runs in the game against DC United.

It's the play of Chara that has me concerned, and increasingly the play of Alhassan.

Chara has, thus far, not earned his weight as their sole designated player. He has flashes of brilliance, but that's it. Too often he doesn't track back, leaving plenty of space directly in front of the defense. He seems lazy off the ball and doesn't come too the ball nearly enough. He doesn't make great runs or is aggressive in getting to the ball.

I'm afraid folks that all those characteristics are required of a central mid-fielder. That's why they brought him in, and he's been a disappointment. He must control the midfield with the ball at his feet and go at the defense.

Alhassan is a complete mystery. At the start of the season he was a wonder and displayed outstanding ball skills and continued to make run after run at the defense. Now? He just looks lost.

It's the play of these two that continues to plague the Timbers. The defense is under constant pressure and the forwards never get quality touches.

This is probably the most quiet that I've seen Kenny Cooper this season. He didn't have one quality shot on goal. I would have liked to see both he and Perlazzo a little more active at the defensive end and put more pressure on the Chivas defense.

Chivas, to their credit, deserved to win the game. The lone bright spot for the Timbers was the outstanding play of Troy Perkins, who had three world-class saves and kept the Timbers in the game until the 70th minute when Chivas scored on a quality goal from Marcos Mondaini from Nagamura. It was an excellent goal. However, it also highlighted the defensive deficiencies present all night. Sloppy marking of midfield runs.

It's odd that the Timbers have now lost to both DC United and Chivas, while beating the likes of Philadelphia, Columbus, Houston and FC Dallas.

The run of bad form shouldn't be too surprising given that the Timbers are an expansion franchise. It takes time for players to get accustomed to one another.

Still, the midfield play, or lack thereof, has to be a concern to coach John Spencer. I don't know if it's his tactics, lack of belief in his midfield, or the players themselves who continually refuse to challenge the opposing defense.

I have to wonder if the team didn't get a little cocksure with wins against Philadelphia and Columbus and the tie against Seattle?

Whatever it is, the squad needs to regroup and end this two game losing streak. Both Colorado and New York play at home and let's get another win streak started.