Friday, June 17, 2011

A Timbers Dilemma


The New York Red Bulls will be making their Portland debut this Sunday and what is an Arsenal and Timbers supporter to do??  For the Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry, is coming but in a Red Bulls uniform.


Henry is the all time leading goalscorer for the Arsenal and was a member of two Premiership winning teams including the 'invincibles' of the 2003-2004 season that did not lose a single game.  Of course, I will root for the Timbers to win the match, but I can't help but cheer for Henry.

The match itself should be very interesting.  The Timbers lost again last weekend, but to the current MLS champions the Colorado Rapids, and though the end result was a disappointment there is no doubt in my mind that the Timbers played their best game at Jeld-Wen and made a huge turnaround from the terrible performance they gave against DC United.  They were playing out from the back instead of punting it up, trying to move the ball and keep possession, Chara was (finally) actively trying to get forward and get involved in the attack and the entire team seemed to have better movement and energy.

But the Red Bulls are a dangerous and talented team and are a real test.  However they are missing some key players thanks to the Gold Cup: Rafa Marquez is on duty for Mexico and Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo are on duty with the US squad.  Thus the Timbers have a chance to catch a depleted side, but they will have to be very careful with Henry.  Even at 33 he is a class above and capable of scoring from all over the pitch.

Should be a blast!

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2 comments:

mlcduck said...

I had come to appreciate this blog for sane economic analysis,love of beer, and info on happenings in my Sellwood neighborhood. However, the affection shown to this handball loving, FIFA-conspirator, Gillette "the best a hand can get", SOB has me flummoxed.

Patrick Emerson said...

This is true - there is no excuse for what happened against Ireland in the WC qualifiers. The honorable thing to do was to gift Ireland a goal - which did not happen. It was a real shame and a stain on his reputation.

But that was in a France shirt. For Arsenal he is nothing but a deity. St. Henry.