Pre-season begins!
Portland Timbers update from training today…
No word yet in speaking with Caleb Porter about Mikael Silvestre…
A number of younger players impressed today at training – far to early to know for impact on their ability to help the squad – still six weeks of preseason – so EARLY DAYS…
Zakuni and Valeri sat out today as did Steve Evans – In speaking with Steve Evans he’s recovering from minor surgery on his back… from what I understand all three are slated to join the Timbers preseason in Tucson.
Norberto is impressive with his size, agility and foot skills.
Will Johnson has bloody long hair – looks about 2 inches long right now; I expect he’ll trim his flowing locks pretty soon – it seemed to slow him down a wee bit — NOT! But it was strange to see him with hair on his head…
Gaston has quick feet and great vision based on what I saw today – should mix well with the attacking mix!
For me the jury is still out on Alvas Powell – perhaps a bit early to say but it appears he’s a little rusty and tends to over-commit and lose positional presence; forcing himself to make sliding tackles more than a fullback should… a bit critical I know but sorry – I call it like I see it…
In chatting with Caleb I asked him about the potential to work a bit more on a flat back three type of approach this preseason – he didn’t directly answer the question and rightly so but he did offer up the intent to remain flexible at all times understanding the flow of the game and the players available for the game.
He reinforced that any and all types of situations and systems to gain possession and defend the goal are on the table.
All told; a typical warm-up training session to shake the cob-webs and get the heart rate moving with a bit of pace and first touch work.
That’s all for today!
You can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/ChrisGluckPTFC
Chris Gluck
I have been covering the Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer, as a community blogger/analyst for the Columbian Newspaper, since June, 2012. Since then my involvement in soccer analysis has expanded to include participating in the Regional Emmy Award Winning Soccer City PDX TV Show (Comcast Sports Northwest). My unique analytical approach has been published in Europe and presented at the World Conference on Science and Soccer 2014. I also appear regularly as a co-host on Rose City Soccer Show and the Yellowcarded Podcast. You can find my work on PossessionwithPurpose.com, PTFC Collective and Prost Amerika.