This being the Timbers first season in the MLS it would be hard to say what they are capable of this season. The preseason definitely showed some promise for the Timbers as they went 1-4-0. And while that is not enough to get too excited about, it is definitely more of a positive then a negative.
The Timbers have a lot to overcome, history being the biggest obstacle. Expansion teams have not had the best track record in their debut years. In 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays lost 99 games, 2002 the Houston Texans went 4-12, and in 2004 the Charlotte Bobcats went 18-64 in their first season.
The Timbers could be the team to come out strong in their first year but so far it doesn’t look good. The Timbers could not keep up with the Colorado Rapids, which shouldn’t be surprising since the Rapids are the defending MLS champions. The bright side is that there was a very slight glimmer of hope in the game. Portland’s goalkeeper Adin Brown was about a finger away from stopping the Rapids second goal. The Timbers Jorge Perlaza had the opportunity to pop the ball right over the Rapids goalie for an easy goal but he floated it just too high. Those were about the only positives however and they didn’t even happen. And on the flip side the rest of the game was almost a disaster for the Timbers. The Rapids outshot them 12-5 and had seven shots on goal compared to the Timbers one.
Basically there is no way to know if they will be successful or not this season after just one game; in a few weeks, maybe. And although there is not much evidence to get excited, there also isn’t any reason anyone should be yelling timber just yet.
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