Timbers Gearing Up for Sunday’s Seattle Sounders Derby

Phil Neville directing training on May 8, 2024 at the Timbers Training Facility in Beaverton, OR (photo by Diego G Diaz).

Timbers coach Phil Neville’s tone has softened down and turned to a more positive attitude offering an image of hard work and unity to prepare Sunday’s Cascadia Derby against Seattle Sounders.

Saturday, May 4th, a 2-0 loss to Charlotte was the worst performance of this 2024 season with little to salvage from. The post match press conference saw an angry and frustrated Phil Neville promising changes in the line up and feeling profoundly displeased by his players’ display of football.

The Timbers’ media sphere, from professional media, to blogosphere, to fans’ social media commentary have been on a frenzy about what those changes could be and if they are even be possible with the current depth of the bench, while noting the slump in results, and asking themselves, at what point the coach’s position should start to be questioned.

Saturday’s performance against Charlotte, offered a very poor image of a team that was unable to both interpret their individual roles and work as team, with some suggesting whether Neville might have lost the support of the locker room. Like in Paul Newman’s movie  “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), “I believe what we have here is a failure to communicate”. Such failure to which Neville admitted a part of the blame.

The Timbers also were at the tail end of three difficult matches on the road deprived of their top player, the Brazilian playmaker Evander, in two of them. The squad has missed him greatly in the offense. And as the offense production felt diminished, it only amplified the defensive woes of the team.

Tuesday’s open training offered a more collected Neville, offering that in the face of such results, “When things aren’t going your way, you’ve got to work harder, doing less doesn’t get you anywhere further. Results sometimes might not be out of our control, but for Neville there is no excuse to do your best to try to correct it.

A more conciliatory tone from the coach moving forward, but firmly asking the players to give more to turn the situation around. “Of course there are going to be changes, and I am not just thinking about personnel, I think there is going to be a change in mentality”, said Neville looking to the derby match.

“Of course there are going to be changes, and I am not just thinking about personnel, I think there is going to be a change in mentality” – Phil Neville, Timber’s coach

Neville understands not only the gravity of a situation that could turn around against him if results don’t start coming in, but also understands the gravity of the moment going in to the most important game of the season for fans.

“We need to change our mentality, about being hard to beat, accepting the situation that we have to pick up results, also and acceptance that we play this game, a derby game, and we play it for our supporters, the best supporters of MLS. And we have to play this game with our hearts and with our heads”.

Neville expanded some of his criticisms of his team he made in the heat of last Saturday’s post match.

“There has to be a change in some of the things that we have been seeing, the individual errors, the lapses of concentration. It has been inconsistent, and probably not just this season, but easily the last 12, to 18 months”. He acknowledges the responsibility he plays in this task “It’s my job to change that, that’s why I’ve been brought in, I need to be better, the players need to be better  and on Sunday they will be!”.

The open training session on May 8th saw the technical staff actively sorting through tactics, and Neville involved even deeper in the the game tactics scrimmages. It saw Evander training with the group, even as he is still today doubtful for the derby match this weekend. It also defender Dario Zuparic fully reincorporated, and being played alongside some of the starters in the training scrimmages, which makes us wonder whether he might be one of the personnel changes Neville touted several times.

The role of Diego Chara is also central for this team, the 38 old veteran, has been one of the center pieces for almost every Portland squad since their admittance to MLS. His hard work rate, ability to help on possession and recuperation of the ball, has made him an essential player. A true leader in and out the field. Revered by the fans, players and coaches, his wealth of experience is something the team deeply needs at this moment, he is a must have starter for Sunday’s match against Seattle.

“He is an important part of the football club, not just the team, he is a reference for the supporters, when they see him on the pitch, they feel a lot safer than when he is not”, said Neville about Diego Chara on May 10 pre derby press conference. “He epitomizes everything that is brilliant about this football club both on and off the pitch”, the Timber’s coach followed up, and sentenced, “He is 38 of age and breaking records, so when you are picking a team for the game on Sunday, he is the first name that goes on the team’s sheet, because he has the trust of the whole organization in and off the field”.

“the game is the most important thing, the occasion looks after itself, the occasion is for the supporters, for the owners, for the front office, for everybody else that is coming to the game, but those 11 players that are going to enter the field, plus 6-7 substitutes, they just have to focus on a game of football, a game of football that we have to win!”. – Phil Neville, Timber’s coach

Neville also is happy to be playing the next three games at home after a tough run on the road, specially Sunday’s match against Seattle.

“This is a very important game, specially for the fans, for the fans of both teams, but we are going to try to make sure it’s the Portland fans who are celebrating Sunday night, on 23rd avenue, or wherever pubs they go, and we are going to try to join them”.

The important of the match and the hype of the rivalry is something Neville understands very well, he attended last time Timbers travelled north to lumen field last September, when then Saveresse’s team played Seattle for a 2-2 tie.

“It was a brilliant game” Neville recalls. But he also is very conscious that is not just the league’s marketing in what is viewed as the biggest rivalry in MLS, it’s three points, three points that must be won.

On the Friday May 10, conference he would expand on that “the game is the most important thing, the occasion looks after itself, the occasion is for the supporters, for the owners, for the front office, for everybody else that is coming to the game, but those 11 players that are going to enter the field, plus 6-7 substitutes, they just have to focus on a game of football, a game of football that we have to win!”.

The career of Chara will be object of an homage before kick off.  His 377 matches with Portland Timbers since his debut in April 23, 2011, 35 of those derbies, have become the longest stretch any players have played with a single team in MLS history.  A very rare case in this league, and frankly in today’s world of football.