Interview with Caleb Porter at Training today….
Interview at training today with Caleb Porter… some thoughts – to paraphrase…
Likely we will see “other starters” / “key reserves” (perhaps?) Zizzo, Valencia, Zemanski, Miller, and others Wednesday evening – important to sustain full squad as long MLS season unfolds…
Cup Games just as critical as regular season games – it takes four to win the Cup – “we are in it to win it”…
We may see Kah take a back seat – he took a slight knock so unclear at this time…
All part of managing that portion of the season and balancing demands as the season continues…
As for DC United – by design running the 4-4-2 — quite a bit of ‘chalk-talk’ in preparing for that match as opposed to on-field training – all told not much different other than the approach to penetrating the attacking third and role of second striker vs central attacking midfielder.
DC United was good candidate to offer up this approach given troubles in their back-four. Possession would be sacrificed a bit in order to increase pressure on the back-four…
Adds variation as noted by Caleb – making it all the more harder to prepare and defend against Portland…
Intent here to focus on chasing the title and work on depth – always look to add strength and depth to the squad – summer transfer period – always be prepared for injuries or just to bolster the squad and get better…
Ryan Johnson, Rodney Wallace, Donovan Ricketts and Futty Danso all to miss next MLS clash in Chicago due to call ups for their National sides…
All for now
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.