yazan07

Thanks Tim, it was nice meeting you and I really appreciate the scarf!

I heard Barson will be back for Saturday, don't quote me on that though

Still not absolutely convinced this decision makes sense from every angle, but Jared has nothing less than my absolute highest support.

yeah I wasn't suggesting Porter would take Meves first round, but maybe if he fell later or even in the supplemental draft, maybe Porter would think about picking him up if GK depth was something needed for Portland. I know Porter isn't planning on getting the whole gang back together just for the sake of it. Now if they're really looking for a new #1 up there, MAYBE Evan Bush...

Mmmm Five Guys. Just had dinner there last night. Soooo good.

If it makes a difference, Portland's #1 this year is Donovan Ricketts who is old and has seen better days. He was traded to Portland from Montreal a little while back. It made no sense because I guess Portland's keeper was pretty good and a bit younger.

Glad the one comment on that article scratches Reyna and Yeagley from the "interested" column. Look, by all means, ask Claudio Reyna if he wants the job, but I would bet money on it not happening for the reasons I listed above. As for Yeagley, the Yeagleys are IU soccer. The only reason he would leave that job would be to not live in the shadow of his father, and he's not going to leave it to live in the shadow of the guy they initially wanted to replace his father. Caleb turned down IU to build his own dynasty, Todd Yeagley isn't going to leave his father's dynasty for Porter's. The other name I don't want to be on the list is Curt Onalfo. Yeah it's real nice to list all the places he has been, but the reason he has been to so many places is because he has been fired so many times. Why is he an assistant at LA? because he couldn't hack it as a head coach at Kansas City and DC. His biggest success has come as a head coach and based only his record, I'd say that's where he is best suited.

Yeah, I just went to wikipedia for some answers and I guess Claudio Reyna was signed by Bayer Leverkusen after three years at Virginia. After three years he must have been close to a degree, can't believe he wouldn't have finished it by now, especially since he has been retired for a little while now. Wikipedia also says "Reyna now spends much of his time managing the Claudio Reyna Foundation, his non-profit established to provide soccer training and mentoring to underprivileged youth around the nation and abroad." Again, seems like a much bigger project than coaching a college soccer team. Even one as big as ours.

Haha Aaron, yeah that was Brek Shea, probably about age 18? That's because Claudio Reyna is the Youth Technical Director of US Soccer. For him to come to Akron would be a step down. In his current capacity, he gets to develop and steer the direction of youth soccer players at every level. His job is essentially to develop the philosophy and style of what every young soccer player in the country should be doing. His job now is completely incomparable to what a college soccer coach does. I would be shocked if I found out he was even thinking about this job, especially for all the talk that college soccer could one day be irrelevant in the greater scope of soccer in America. Just not the same ball park at all.

Did anyone watch the Seattle - Portland match last night on ESPN? Seattle thrashed Portland 3-0 in front of a sold out crowd at Century Link Field. During the game, Travis Clark tweeted "Caleb Porter has his work cut out for him," and boy is he right. That team is not very good and does not even have a lot of good pieces. Watching Donovan Ricketts last night, I wasn't sure why bringing him to Portland even happened. Maybe at this point Porter is just banking on some good draft picks for next year, but really it seems like the whole team needs overhauled. Apparently Alexi Lalas also heard from Porter as he tweeted "Caleb Porter told me today, “#SEAvPOR is important to win Cascadia Cup but also sets the stage for the future. Moving forward we will no longer be inferior to the Sounders.” - Caleb Porter #SEAvPOR" and "Caleb Porter also told me Timbers supporters "deserve a club that is line with their passion." #SEAvPOR." As usual, big talk from Porter. Hopefully for the sake of him and the club though, he can deliver.

Perry Kitchen, all class. Love how he was only with us for one year but he cites Akron as having a huge impact on so many facets of his life.

And the Rubber Bowl! Don't really feel the same way about the JAR though

Oh and one more thing about the Kenny Arena idea, for anyone who is dismissing it based on the idea that you shouldn't make a hire based on name recognition, I'm sure Kenny Arena is a better soccer coach than Jim Tressel is a "vice president of strategic engagement." Again, I'm just saying it's worth considering. Think about the draw it could have to kids trying to get into the pros. Maybe if you come to Akron and play well, your coach will call his daddy, the best American soccer coach ever, and recommend him taking a look at you. Also for anyone wondering, Kenny Arena's FIU has only dropped one match in eight outings this season, and it was to the above mentioned Furman.

Yes! That makes at least three votes that Kenny Arena should at least be in the discussion. Me, Z.I.P., and DeAndre Yedlin's grandmother haha. Seems like an all star committee to me. I'm of the same opinion as fknbuflobo, definitely not against Embick in any way, just against handing it to Embick because it seems like the easiest choice. If he really is the best candidate, then he will win out in the end and we will all be behind him. But here is an interesting point: It seems as though the mindset behind pushing Embick is the idea that Caleb's assistant will produce the same success Caleb has. Well if that's the case I'm wondering when VCU will start being a national powerhouse. I would love to know what is going on behind the scenes right now.

Every year MLS ranks their best 24 players under age 24. There's a fan vote, but I think the editors have the final say. The list just finished today. 24. Andy Rose 23. Omar Salgado 22. Fabian Castillo 21. Luis Silva 20. Teal Bunbury 19. Freddy Adu 18. Sheannon Williams 17. Conor Lade 16. Nick DeLeon 15. Darlington Nagbe 14. Luis Gil 13. Juan Agudelo 12. Gershon Koffie 11. Will Bruin 10. Bill Hamid 09. Andy Najar 08. Perry Kitchen 07. Andrew Wenger 06. Juninho 05. Filipe 04. Sean Johnson 03. Brek Shea 02. CJ Sapong And yeah, you guessed it, or maybe you're as surprised as I was, but #1: Darren Mattocks What do you guys think? I'm surprised they rated him that high. These rankings are kind of all over the place this year. Darlington is way too low.

Reinaldo Brenes, that kid has played every position short of keeper since he has been here. I"m pretty sure he started as a defensive midfielder, played a little fullback last season, has played as a winger, and now a center forward. What is his best position? I don't even know what you list him as. Definitely valuable to have a utility man like that.

Scott Caldwell named a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

It's not even just the system, it's Caleb himself. Even if the coaching staff can somehow magically guarantee there will be no change in the system or tactics or quality of the program, they still can't promise players to come play for a guy who is an insider with US Soccer. Even before the U-23 gig, Porter worked with the U-18s.

He's a Rapids Academy product, if he is ready to leave Akron they will definitely offer him a contract. Unless, that is, he is trying to get something better, outside of MLS

We're deep enough that not having Aodhan probably doesn't mean we have to play a guy who has not received PT this year, probably just start Derschang and maybe move Stevenson into the midfield if Aodhan was even playing in the midfield. Oh that reminds me of a question I had: does anyone actually hava clue what is going on with this team? haha I just feel like I haven't seen them play in a while. I see just from the box score that Souders has come off the bench, so have we been starting with three in the back? Or I heard that Serna had been playing left back, is that true? Was Quinn playing in the midfield or on the wing? I don't even know what position anyone besides our keeper and centerbacks even play anymore or if we have started using any crazy formation. I think maybe it's time for the team to come home for a little while.

Disgusting that there is no oversight or ability to appeal that call. The thing is, is we get that goal and game over. If this was the pro game and a similar goal was disallowed and the game ended in a draw, there would be a sound argument for not just going back and saying the team won, because you can always try to factor in how the losing team responds to being down a goal and how the winning team may get comfortable being up a goal with time remaining. But it was golden goal. Game over. We win.

With MLS jump, Porter joins exclusive fraternity

Just remembered, and surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but former Zip Cameron Knowles is still an assistant coach with the Timbers. He played for Akron before Porter came here though so I don't know what, if any, relationship exists between them. Still neat to think about two former Akron guys on the same coaching staff.

Okay okay I have another really good one. What team did Porter model our style after? And who is currently without a job and is moving to the states? That's right boys, Pep Guardiola for Akron.

Look, I don't know Jared Embick personally, but I agree with some that he shouldn't be automatically handed this job just because he worked under Caleb. I just don't know if he has the intangibles to recruit and do other things the way Porter did. MAYBE he does, and maybe he can handle the job well, but we as fans don't really know. Yeah he's seen how Porter works and could probably continue to replicate that to some extent, but Porter is a one of a kind guy, and I don't think his assistant necessarily possesses the same intangibles as him just based on being his assistant. I think promoting within can work, but depends on what kind of job it is. I just don't know if Jared Embick has all of the "Porter package." And while no other coach may have that, someone else might be closer. Now I'm gonna step off my soap box because I just thought of a name that would pretty much be based solely on name recognition. I don't know how successful he has been at other places, but I know he just received his first head coaching college job. Kenny Arena anyone?