yazan07

Ha Aaron, well I'd say that seals the deal right there. When I first heard Porter to Portland I figured an issue would be their small field. looks like that won't be an issue.

Does anyone think this would hurt the team chemistry at all, knowing that their coach is about to take off at the end of the season? Would it be harder to play for him? Or maybe they would fight harder to win one more title for him. Any thoughts?

The comments by Wilkinson sure make it sound like Porter. If so, hopefully he does stay on through the rest of the season. Also, let me repeat one more time, this has nothing to do with money. Porter is happy here, this isn't about getting the bigger paycheck. Akron has offered him everything he could want AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL. And I think, no I KNOW that if all he wanted to do was coach college soccer, he would buy his grave in Akron right now and die an Akron legend like Jerry Yeagley at Indiana. But Porter wants something much bigger, something that he will not likely reach coaching amateurs who are also students four months out of the year when his competitors are coaching full time professionals 8-10 months out of the year. He has the current national team boss telling him to take a pro job if he wants to further his chances of having a future with US Soccer. And no, international soccer is nothing like international basketball, being the US national team coach is much more of a commitment. Trust me, I hate to see him go (if he is in fact leaving) just as much as anyone, but hopefully one day he will have the biggest job in American soccer, and we'll be able to say his first big gig was at Akron.

I've thought about the comparisons to Bruce's situation when he was national team coach. It would be cool if Porter could coach at Akron for 17 years, go to MLS for two years, and then head to the national team. One huge difference is that the whole time Bruce was at Virginia, there wasn't a domestic league like MLS. MLS probably raises the bar a bit. As for the question of why Portland when he turned down DC; when DC was knocking, Porter didn't have the coach of the national team telling him he needed to get to the next level if he wanted to get to the top. Now he does.

Well that is certainly reassuring

It was nice meeting fknbuflobo, bisbee, and goddess the other day

This guy, who is apparently a sports writer based in Portland, tweeted not long ago: Geoffrey C. Arnold ‏@geoffreyCarnold Timbers have selected a new coach and a contract has been offered. #rctid So I guess we'll find out soon enough whether or not it is Caleb EDIT at 12:27AM same guy says Geoffrey C. Arnold ‏@geoffreyCarnold I'm hearing that University of Akron coach Caleb Porter has been offered job. Timbers refusing to comment. #rctid

Maybe, but don't you think most of best players from here on out will be academy products already affiliated with a club who will not be in the draft? Or am I confused about the rules?

idk if anyone watched the DC-Phili game, but it got NASTY. Ended with 9 men v. 10. So many cards issued, a questionable retake of a PK that wasn't made the second time, referee had no control of the game at the end. Yeah Korb and Brandon McDonald got into it at the end. That was the least of the fights that occurred during the game, but still looked heated.

Alright figured I'd start a thread since I'm unfortunately not there. Big surprise already is Wil Trapp not in the starting XI as freshman Matt Foldesly takes his place in the midfield. Also surprised to see Stevenson instead of Derschang or Quinn.

TDS 10 National contenders. Lists Akron and WVU

Woah I thought of this exact same lineup a few weeks ago, and for many of the same reasons. We have 3 solid CBs,why not have them all play at once, and not task any of them with going forward? I also thought of Serna's experience with playing LB but with his strengths as more of an attacker being a reason why he could play a role like that and it making sense. I wonder if Porter is on the same page as us haha.

Thankfully that watch list doesn't mean anything. Honestly, and I mean this with absolutely no disrespect to Scotty, he's probably not even the best player on our team, so it's weird that he would be the only one on the list. I'm sure it'll be looking a lot different come November

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soc...school_aid24787

This lineup looked familiar and I checked back a page to find Tank had made this exact prediction. Looks great, though I'm still surprised to see no Aodhan Quinn. Do you remember what the reserve team looked like? Probably hard to distinguish some of the head-shaven new guys.

Are we sure Derschang is an Aodhan Quinn type transfer who is an instant starter rather than a Zac Portillos type transfer who will come off the bench and maybe get a spot start here or there?

Hasn't Porter said in the past that he plays a system to best suit the players he has? Of course I am not a national championship and international coach, but I would find a way to get Barson, Gallego, and Souders all on the field. If that means playing Gallego at LB or DM then I would do that, because I have to think that he would still be more effective playing out of position than trying to force someone else to play there. Oh well I'm sure he has thought of every scenario and will do what makes the most sense. If Souders doesn't end up starting though, I wouldn't expect to see him come off the bench. There's just no need to sub out a centerback unless there is an injury. So either Porter finds a line up that includes him, or he sits this year. Also a little surprised to hear Stevenson among the names for potential starters. He still hasn't really impressed me, but I guess he had a pretty good spring season. Maybe the reason he hasn't been that impressive is because he has also been played out of position at LB. If we don't have a starting LB though and we have a crowded midfield, I could see Porter still playing Stevenson there. I have a feeling we'll see a rotating cast of starters the first few games. Too many good, versatile options. Many possibilities. Can't wait for the season to get started. I'm out of town right now so I can't really follow up on practices. If anyone else can keep the updates coming, please do!

Carro is scary, he's better off at Pitt.

He was stealing credit cards to pay for $400 hair cuts

Everyone is talking about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, but it looks like the biggest split of 2012 is going to be Blair Gavin and Ben Zemanski. It's funny cause I saw the headline on facebook and obviously to the casual MLS fan, the part about Shalrie Joseph is the most interesting part, but of course when I clicked on it to see who they traded, I was more surprised to see Blair on his way out. Apparently Chivas loves drafting Zips and then getting rid of them. Oh well, one more MLS side to have an Akron player on it.

I also read into that, but in the sense that #10 doesn't usually go to a left back.

Roster updated

Woo first exhibition match is three weeks from tomorrow! Feels like we've been waiting forever. We'll probably have an intrasquad match before that as well. Can't wait

Well he even said on twitter that it's his first time playing 90 minutes since the national championship match. I just think it's strange timing that after his tantrum about not getting playing time he gets plenty of it. Guess it was fine though since they beat United reserves 4-1

Sometimes if you whine loud enough you get your way. Speas went 90 in the Crew reserves match against DC United today.