Sounders Take It on the Chin

With a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps yesterday, the Seattle Sounders were swept in the Inaugural Cascadia Summit. It was a shocking turn of events and a weekend that left all Sounders fans very disappointed. On the way home from Starfire yesterday, I promised myself that I would not read any of the comment sections on Soccer by Ives knowing full well that they would only piss me off. Of course I was unable to stop myself when I got home. I had to go see what exactly was being said...it was nothing I didn't expect. Timbers and Whitecaps fans (and really any anti-Sounders fans) were eating it up. While they killed the team, the worst part of it was the openly mocking of our fans. Apparently my fellow supporters are minimizing the losses by reminding everyone it was pre-season or by creating excuses like "well, we controlled the play and the 'Caps/Timbers got lucky with their goals."

I know that their are not Whitecaps or Timbers fans reading this, but just in case their are, let me be as direct as possible. We lost. You won. You were the better team. Period. No excuses from me. We stunk. You were better.

Stepping back from my initial shock, I should have seen this coming. I mean, here we are, the mighty Seattle Sounders...holders of the best fans in the world. The largest crowds in the country. The best success for any expansion team. It's not like our fans don't tell everyone about it. I have to imagine that this eats on every Portland and Vancouver fan - after all, they also lay claim to the best fans in the world. So the fans came into the competition with a HUGE chip on their shoulders and this undoubtedly rubbed off on the players as well. I have seen numerous interviews with either John Spencer or Tom Soehn where the reporter asks about Seattle's success - they are always complimentary but you can just see that vein their forehead about ready to pop. They, like the rest of the country, are tired of Seattle. They came up here on a mission: beat Seattle...check that, embarrass Seattle on it's own turf. They did exactly that.

For all the Sounders fans who are brushing it off as pre-season, I offer this opinion: you may be right, but at the end of the day, these pre-season games are not like the pre-season game against Colorado on Wednesday. These were games that we all expected to win. These were games that we let the entire Northwest know we were going to win. At the end of the day, Portland and Vancouver wanted it more than the Sounders. Forget the terrible mistakes - yes, maybe they were lucky but it's not like we would have been sad about being given the same opportunity. Hell no, if Jay Nolly or Troy Perkins had made those mistakes we would be KILLING the Timbers and Whitecaps right now. So take your licks and hope that the boys in rave green can erase these memories and beat them in the regular season. The problem with hyping a pre-season tournament with your bitter rivals is if you lose, you have to eat shit.

So let's do that. Let's take it on the chin and rebound for next time.

******

Ok, now that that is out of the way, a few comments from yesterday's game.

• I'm not sure how many Portland fans there were on Friday night, but I counted only about 100 Vancouver fans yesterday afternoon. They were loud, but I was a little disappointed in the atmosphere from both sections.
• I was starting to really like our second unit at the end of the year, but boy do they seem to have taken a step back. Taylor Graham and Terry Boss were horrendous. There is no other way to put it. Graham is lucky in that they already dropped the center back they drafted, but Boss isn't that fortunate - Sigi still has both rookie keepers in camp and word is that he loves both of them.
• Out of the overall suckiness emerged two new favorites for The Wife, J-Will and I: Eric Friberg and Servando Carrasco. Friberg had a calmness on the ball that is sorely lacking with this team. I think he can play a major roll moving forward. Carrasco on the other hand has no such calmness, as he has the potential to be the next Ozzie Alonso for this team. He was every where yesterday and really impressed.
• Funniest moment of the day: in response to the Clapping Y chant thingy we do, the Vancouver supporters sang the YMCA.
• Major ups to J-Will for breaking his ankle. We got amazing front row seats and a spot in disabled parking. The players were so close we could have touched them (and then probably taken out by security but it would have been worth it).
• I was hoping for more from O'Brien White and Michael Tetteh, but I am not ready to write them off yet.
• Finally, thoughts going out to Mike Fucito who came up lame with what is being called an abductor strain. We had front row seats for when he pulled up...it was not a good scene.
  

We have one more pre-season game this week against Colorado before next Tuesday's season opener against the Gals on ESPN. Ultimately, if we lose to the Rapids but beat LA then this weekend's results will be a distant memory. But if we get spanked at home by LA and then on the road against the Red Bulls, this will stick in our memory as a preview of what was to come. I can only hope that we have gotten it out of our system because it was brutal.

Stupid Timbers

OK...so I was partially right. I said the only way the timbers beat us is if they were to score an early goal and then Sigi played his subs in the second half. Well, the first goal was of the ugly variety (I know it was wet out, but Kasey you have to hold on to that)...the part I got wrong was how Sigi handled his personnel as he only brought on 4 subs deep into the second half.

Straight up, Portland beat us. If you listen to the quotes after the game or read many of the Seattle bloggers, you will get the sense that all is ok. "We had the better of the play...we were able to connect a lot of passes...we just have to work on scoring" You know, the same old stuff that happens every time we lose.

Look, I love that we play attractive soccer. I love that we are not bunkering down, playing long balls and hoping for a mistake. I love that, it's just that sometimes we get tripped up by teams who are wiling to adapt to win. Portland won the game...I am not taking anything away from them. But it was clear that once they got their goal they were happy to defend. The line-up was made up of a lot of marginal starters from other MLS clubs, but they all had the fire in them as if they had played for Portland for years. Jewsbury was his annoying self. Jeremy Hall was buzzing all around. Sal Zizzo played with a chip on his shoulders. In the end, they beat us. Simple as that.

Now a few observations:

• Even though I love Arlo, I thought switching announcing duties after the first half was very smart
• Zakuani looked dangerous all night
• Alonso was his normal self - breaking up plays and doing a nice of starting the attack
• Brad Evans was mostly silent - I am a big fan in general of his, but I will be keeping a close eye on him to make sure I remain objective. I mean he was no where to be seen
  
• Nkufo looks like he has weights on his legs. It will be important for him to hold the ball up this season because I don't think he can run
• Where was Timber killer Roger Levesque? Honestly, he would have been good for a goal.
• Does Sigi throw his second unit out today?
• The cameraman was definitely having a hard time - he was apparently in pre-season form as well

Today The Wife, J-Will and I are making the trip down to Tukwila to see them take on the Whitecaps. We are VERY excited to see the boys again. Here's hoping for good weather and some goals. COME ON YOU SOUNDERS!

Less than 4 hours to go...

...until those hated Timbers step onto our pitch. It may only be pre-season, but this is a game that we all want to win. Yes, getting playing time for Lamar Neagle, Terry Boss and David Estrada might be important in the long run, but this is more important than all of that. We need to establish early on that we are the Kings of Cascadia. We need to keep them feeling like the younger brother. We need to win.

Talking with the wife on the way in to work, I think the only way we lose tonight is if we give up a fluke early goal and then Sigi decides to play the subs in the second half. I know I am biased when it comes to Sounders v Timbers, but honestly our line-up is better than theirs. Besides Kenny Cooper, Troy Perkins and maybe Jack Jewsbury, I don't think any one of their players could crack the Sounders starting line-up on a regular basis. Maybe in years to come they will put an equal team on the field, but not this year.

So Come On You Sounders....Victory!

Sounders v2.0?

This might be a crazy thought, but as I read more and more about the Portland Timbers roster, I start to feel the same thing as I did in 2009 with the Sounders. No, I'm not talking all out support and excitement for the team (in fact I despise this timbers team and they have yet to play a game), but rather my feelings towards the roster. At first their roster moves didn't strike me anything strange, but with every growing rumor and transaction, I feel like they are becoming Sounders v2.0.

Let's see where the similarities lie by first taking a look at how the team was constructed prior to their inaugural season. They began by signing several former USL Sounders - 2008 USL MVP Sebastian LeToux, Roger Levesque, Zach Scott, Chris Eylander and Sanna Nyassi - as well as the USL MVP Osvaldo Alonso from Charleston. Then they brought Kasey Keller back from overseas and selected a forward from the University of Akron named Steve Zakuani with the 1st overall pick in the college draft. Next came the expansion draft where they stocked up with some talent - Nate Jaqua, Nathan Sturgis, Peter Vagenas, Tyson Wahl, James Riley, Brad Evans followed by the signing of a relatively unknown hot shot forward from Columbia named Fredy Montero and his teammate Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Then they made their biggest splash, bringing in Freddie Ljungberg as a DP. Finally, seeing that their defense was thin, they traded for Patrick Ianni and Tyrone Marshall. The foundation for their successful year was complete.

Fast forward to 2011 and the construction of the timbers roster is becoming eerily similar. They began by signing 4 players from the USL team (including 2010 USL MVP Ryan Pore) plus a star forward from Austin named Eddie Johnson. Portland then brought in a veteran keeper of their own in Troy Perkins. In the expansion draft they stocked their team with undervalued players such as Adam Moffat (a Crew midfielder like Brad Evans), Eric Brunner (a outside defender like James Riley), Anthony Wallace and Peter Lowry. Just like Seattle with Jeff Parke, they then selected two players who were out of contract and headed out of MLS (John Bornstein and Robbie Findley) just in case. In the college draft they selected a forward out of the University of Akron (sound familiar?) named Darlington Nagbe. Most recently they made their big name signing - former National team star Kenny Cooper and are now being rumored to have signed a Colombian forward by the name of Jorge Perlaza.

So let's review he similarities:

• Several USL players making the jump, including a former league MVP
• A USL Best XI player from another team
• A rookie forward out of the University of Akron
• A veteran goalkeeper
• Undervalued talent including a Midfielder from Columbus in the expansion draft
• A Colombian forward
• A tall striker coming back to MLS after a failed stint overseas
• Rights to star players no longer in MLS just in case
  

The only differences lie in that they don't have a big name midfielder (although they are rumored to be signing one from Europe) and they haven't done much to steady their defense. As I look at this team on paper, I see a lot of goals being scored - by both Portland and their opponents. As what might not be a surprise, that was also the experts view of the Sounders before their first year.

Seeing the success that Seattle had, Portland is wise to follow their formula. Hopefully for all us, history won't repeat itself in 2011.