To preview this weekend's match at Sporting Park, I spoke to Timbers' TV play-by-play announcer John Strong and MLSSoccer.com writer Dan Itel.
John Strong
What differences have you seen with new manager Caleb Porter?
"It's honestly been pretty massive. He's very cautious and for good reason to not to take too much credit or phrase anything that looks like he's being critical of the previous coach. I think the biggest thing that he's done is he's installed a sense of everything that came the last two years is now irrelevant. All the struggles on the road, the bad results, whatever else, that doesn't mean anything anymore. It's about what they do going forward."
What impact have the new additions (Valeri, Will Johnson, Ryan Johnson) had on the team?
"They've all been really really big, every single new player that's been brought in. Ryan Johnson's scored goals, Will Johnson's been immense, and Valeri brings a dimension that they just haven't really had before."
What do you expect to see from Saturday's match?
"My hope for the game would be that after you get past the initial feeling out period, two teams who want to play good soccer, know how to play good soccer, and come at each other a little bit. I know both coaches would be hesitant to get into too much of a track meet but I can see it going that way for stretches because these teams are good at moving quick, counterattacking up the field. I would hope the Timbers can feed off the atmosphere the same as teams that come into JELD-WEN. They feed off the atmosphere too. I would hope the Timbers would do that in Kansas City. My hope is for a pretty attractive game and hopefully a couple goals."
"It's the only meeting this year. I think for the Timbers, go and play and get what you can. Obviously, Kansas City's going to be motivated to play well. I'm pretty optimistic this could be a awful fun game Saturday night."
Dan Itel
What changes has new manager Caleb Porter brought to the Timbers?
"He's definitely brought in an entirely new mindset. The style of play has been widely discussed as the possession, attack style. It's completely transformed not only the players that were there before under John Spencer but also the new players that he's (Porter) brought in like Ryan Johnson. He's (Johnson) been producing at a career rate. Guys like Diego Valeri, obviously he's an accomplished player, but he seems to be flourishing in just the right role. I really think what Caleb has done is he's taken the pieces that he inherited and also the pieces they brought on board and just put them in the right spots so they can succeed."
What impact has new team captain Will Johnson had on the Timbers this season?
"He's a prototypical captain. When you think of a team captain, he's the guy you want. He's fiery on the field. He's in that central midfielder role where he dictates the pace of the offense and what happens on the field."
How do you think Portland will approach Saturday's match?
"It's hard to say what he's (Porter) going to do on gameday but I would say he's not going to change much in how they play at home versus how they play on the road at a place like Kansas City. He's said all along that he feels the best defense is a controlling, pressing, possession style and that's what he's going to do. He mentioned it at San Jose. The reason why they ended up drawing that game is because they got away from attacking. Once they got a goal up they kind of sat back and let San Jose take the game to them and it cost them. He's been preaching that his week and saying we've got to stay on our front foot. We've got to take the game to our opponents. I think that's what he's going to do no matter if its at home in JELD-WELD or on the road at a tough place to play like Kansas City. That's his philosphy and I don't think he's going to waver much from that."
What do you expect for Saturday's match?
"I think it's going to be a really well played game. Two teams that are entertaining to watch. They have a lot of talent on the field. It could be a classic back and forth type match where each team is trying to impose their will on the other. That's usually the best type of soccer to watch and you could see a couple of goals here and there from both teams."
