PORTLAND — The late-season surge was encouraging, Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter said, but missing the Major League Soccer playoffs is not acceptable.
Disappointment aside, Porter said on Wednesday that the Timbers don’t need to make significant roster changes after the team finished sixth in the Western Conference, one point behind fifth-place Vancouver.
“I like where we’re at in most positions,” Porter said. “I do think it’d be a big mistake to make a lot of moves, but it’d be a bigger mistake not to look at every position and try to get better.”
The 2014 season was supposed to be better than 12 wins, nine losses and 13 ties. After finishing atop the Western Conference in 2013, the Timbers were a popular pick to win a championship in 2014. Those dreams faded quickly as the Timbers didn’t win until their ninth game, forcing a long uphill fight that ended one point out of the playoffs.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Porter pointed to personnel, tactics and reckless play as contributing to the poor start.
Adding forward Fanendo Adi and defender Liam Ridgewell, plus the midseason return to health of Diego Valeri and Rodney Wallace, made the Timbers significantly stronger.
Tactically, the Timbers were more effective when sitting back than when they tried to pressure teams up the field. Early in the season, their anxiousness to produce goals sometimes left them exposed on defense.
It took until the late stages of the season for the Timbers to become a strong defensive team — they had shutouts in four of their final six matches. “The hardest nut to crack all year was the defensive side, which was for me frustrating because I’ve never had a team that was poor defensively in all my years of coaching,” Porter said.
Porter said several positions need an upgrade, but declined to specify those positions.
Central defender likely is one. Ridgewell, signed as a designated player at midseason, gave Portland needed leadership and consistency. But the second central defender spot was a revolving assignment. Argentine Norberto Paparatto struggled to adapt to MLS and his new team, but played well down the stretch. At 34, Pah Modou Kah dealt with several injuries.
Valeri’s knee injury and Will Johnson’s broken leg might impact offseason decisions. Valeri, the team’s top scorer and most dynamic player, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the final match of the season and will miss the start of next season.
“It’s a big blow. I’m not going to lie,” Porter said.
The solution, the coach said, could mean moving Gaston Fernandez or Darlington Nagbe into Valeri’s spot in the middle of the attack. Or it could mean acquiring another attacking midfielder.
Porter said he will travel overseas to scout potential additions to the roster. His assistant coaches will scout college matches. The Timbers hold the No. 5 pick in January’s college draft.
The Timbers will continue to train through Nov. 5, the last day they are allowed under the expiring collective bargaining agreement with the players union. But Porter has no plans for an extended vacation. Among the tasks ahead is deciding which 11 players to protect from the Dec. 10 expansion draft, where new teams Orlando City FC and New York City FC will claim players.
Porter’s offseason focus will be on preparing the Timbers to start 2015 with the winning form they showed down the stretch this season.
“The home form will be better next year. The defending will be better next year. Our start will be better next year,” Porter said. “And I hope we have the same form we had at the end of the year.”
Zakuani retires — Steve Zakuani announced his retirement on Wednesday. The first pick in Seattle Sounder history in 2009, Zakuani was once among the most dynamic young players in the league. Zakuani broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg early in the 2011 season and has since struggled with injuries. Portland claimed him in the MLS free-agent draft prior to this season. He played in 17 league matches this season and had three assists. His only Timbers goal came in CONCACAF Champions League play.
“To see a player of his caliber have to retire in his prime is tough,” said Porter, who coached Zakuani in college. “But it’s a reality of our business. If you’re not healthy you can’t work.”
