I think the two goals Adi scored reflect the problem with our attack. Most of the time we’re positioning him up top to gather long balls out of the back against big defenders—just as we did with Alan Gordon, Boyd and Piquionne. I’m no expert but I think this is a wasted strategy except as an alternative—rarely used—to keep defenders from being complacent. What happened with both goals this last game was that balls were delivered into spaces Adi could run into and actually redirect. He’s not a long ball target player—he’s more of a slice and dice run through the defense at angles player.
He has not shown the ability to jump high or muscle the ball against intense defensive pressure—but he’s done well with running the angles inside the box—we just need to deliver more balls that way if we keep him. I agree that he doesn’t seem the natural strong forward we need.—if he’s gone I won’t be surprised.
That being said, Nate Borchers is tall but no jumper. Ridgewell’s better. Powell is the best of the three. Asprilla is a great jumper—I’m very sorry he’s injured.
What no one has talked about in this thread is that Señor Diego Chara ran the turf ragged in the last game— he was defensive, he was distributing, he was attacking the defense, he was stripping the ball from opponents. This hombre is an awesome player—very awesome—and I don’t think we’d have won without him. I’m continually surprised that he doesn’t get more recognition. A national team call up? An all star slot?
There were many good performances on Saturday night but Chara was outstanding.
I think the Timbers are beginning to believe their juju.
I think the Timbers are beginning to believe their juju.
Chara OWNED the midfield. He was king of all he surveyed.
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