Timbers fire Spencer

http://www.oregonlive.com/timbers/index.ssf/2012/07/portland_timbers_fire_coach_jo.html#incart_river_default

It was only a matter of time I felt...

I am not surprised by this; there was a systemic problem with the team on the road, and the comments from the players were strange after the road losses...

From a personality staindpoint, I really like and will miss Spencer; the Alaska Airlines commercial featuring him giving the safety speech is classic.

Per the O-Live report, Gavin Wilkinson will take over on an interim basis this year.

It got to the point that many of us could no longer watch our favorite MLS team....something dramatic had to happen!!

Will miss Spencer as a personality, but the team was no longer even competitive with him at the helm.

Now under new management, there are a few players who should see some bench time and eventual trades while the eager ones work to get the Timbers back to respectability.

DoubleDipper wrote:It got to the point that many of us could no longer watch our favorite MLS team....something dramatic had to happen!!

Will miss Spencer as a personality, but the team was no longer even competitive with him at the helm.

Now under new management, there are a few players who should see some bench time and eventual trades while the eager ones work to get the Timbers back to respectability.

First off, I kept watching, painful as it was, even as things got worse because that's what supporters do. They also expect changes to be made if the quality of the football is lacking.

Spencer has a great enthusiasm for the game and I hope he gets another chance somewhere and succeeds. He had his issues but this is not all on him.

I'd be surprised if this "new management" is going to change much. Word is the interim coach is Gavin Wilkinson, current GM and former head coach at the end of the USL era. If you thought the current Timbers were tough to watch wait until you see 90 minutes of long ball. He does play his favorites so you might see a few lineup changes. The good news is he's not afraid to throw players under the bus so you'll have no shortage of great quotes in the media. On the other hand his act wears thin quickly with his players.

I don't know how much better things can get until we get a new GM, but I'm not going anywhere. If you want to say you were a Timbers fan back when they were bad, you should too.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:I don't know how much better things can get until we get a new GM, but I'm not going anywhere. If you want to say you were a Timbers fan back when they were bad, you should too.

Personally never ever watched the Timbers until last year, so have no opinion of Gavin Wilkinson or the previous era. But I do have an opinion of the long-ball game……..totally boring, unless of course, the ball goes into the net on a regular basis.

Was a little harsh when I said "It got to the point that many of us could no longer watch our favorite MLS team....," because I still watch the home games due to the great atmosphere, but no longer watch the away games on the telly.

Bring on the Olympics! (Oh, right.......bring on the Women's Olympic Team!)

There is something wrong with a team that falls apart so consistently. It might've been Spencer, hopefully it was, but it could've been something deeper in the dna of the franchise. FWTW I told (yelled from 10 rows up) Spencer to find a realtor soon following that absurd meltdown against RSL a few months back.

Can't believe all of you Pilot fans hating on the long ball! That's all the women's team had in my first four years on the Bluff (1997-2001).

It was nice to hear the chainsaw cranked-up today; it's been too long in MLS play........something like three games. The final was 1-1, but in the unusual heat, everyone put up a good effort to the very end!