MLS has claimed its third head-coaching casualty of the year, and it is the Portland Timbers' John Spencer.
Spencer has been shown the exit door in Portland after a disappointing first half of the 2012 season that has the 5-8-4 Timbers in second-to-last place in the Western Conferece. A press conference is scheduled for Monday afternoon and Timbers owner/president Merritt Paulson is expected to make an official announcement.
(UPDATE- Paulson named general manager Gavin Wilkinson interim head coach while the Timbers conduct a search for a long-term replacement. The 38-year-old Wilkinson has been with the organization since its inaugural United Soccer Leagues season in 2001. Wilkinson has served as a head coach for the Timbers previously, compiling a 50-29-39 record from 2007-2010.)
The Timbers were 16-22-13 under Spencer, their first coach since joining MLS in 2011, but they have been one of the most dismal teams in the league this year with 16 goals scored and 24 surrendered in 17 matches. Portland is coming off a 3-0 defeat to Real Salt Lake in which all three goals were netted in the second half.
Spencer joins former Toronto FC head coach Aron Winter and Philadelphia Union boss Peter Nowak as the first three managers to be fired this season.
What do you make of this development? Who would you like to see permanently replace Spencer? How do you look back on his time with the club? Think Wilkinson will have some success while the club searches for a long-term replacement?
Share your thoughts below.
So he goes to an expansion team and has a very good first year and a not good first half of the second year. I just don’t know if you attract a good replacement when you show no patience like that. He is a high strung, highly demanding guy. I just have a suspicion that a lot of those guys (Boyd? Jack?) just didn’t want to work that hard. Of course nothing to base that on except the product on the field. Quite honestly the effort and commitment we saw when they played Seattle the other week is not there every game (obviously). Personally, I would go to battle for that guy. I think Portland may be heading down the TFC road.
EADIAF and GDP
Figure out what the second one means and you win a gold star.
The service from the wings was usually crap, but that’s just it, his tactics were obsolete by 20 years. Spencer’s attack was too predictable and easy to defend. If we had the great wingers and fullbacks, maybe it could’ve worked out in this league, but this is MLS and those players aren’t readily available in abundance.
Spencer was a one trick pony. He had Plan A: Get the ball out wide and cross and that’s it. He was all gut, little or no thought. His answer to everything was, “Man up” or “Try harder”, etc. He was routinely out-coached by better students of the game who would make in-game adjustments while he was going spastic on his own players.
He makes good points. Maybe you Portland fans should stop being living cliches.
I keep imagining his reaction when Paulson finally got enough nuts to tell him he was fired. How awesome would it be to have an audio of that? I would love to be the guy who gets to go to the bar with Spencer and listen to him rant about Merritt Paulson and the crappy service he got from his wings.
“So few players that showed any skill.”
We do have some skilled players, but Spencer reduced their playing time or played them out-of-position a lot. As for the RSL game, thank Spencer’s bizzaro lineup for that. Chara(nice player) and Palmer/Jewsbury MF? 3 CDMs on at the same time, no attacking/creative player in MF? It was a predictable disaster and ugly to watch. The result wasn’t terribly surprising to educated observers here in Portland.
Read this outsiders. Nice to see you on here Zaggy.
Or you keep dead weight around despite all evidence to the contrary and you gut what’s good about the roster in a desperate attempt to save a job and hit a home run, but then end up like TFC anyway.
I don’t think Timbers are abandoning their overall strategy and focus on youth, it’s just that Spencer is no longer running the squad.
Make sense only if you’re viewing it from a distance. Wilkinson isn’t a solution, but Spencer’s system was broken.
For those that thought it was too early:
2-15-8. Spencer’s away record.
# of wins in 2012 on the road: 0
Bottom-line the team wasn’t getting it done. That’s fine, but then you need to DO something different next time, to try and work and get better. Timber’s often trotted the same under-performing players out, apparently hoping “this time” they’d play well. Jack Jewsbury and Lovel Palmer have been a rock around Spencer’s neck all season and his continued insistence to play them even when it was obvious to the most casual fan that they were weak links, spoke to an arrogance and insistence of favoritism that was his downfall in the end.
This team was a borderline playoff team no doubt, but its the way they played, the way they were so often routinely embarrassed on the road, and the lack of any kind of development out of any of the players with no answers of any kind from Spencer that are the real reasons for his dismissal. If the team was stumbling along but playing in a system that made sense and catered to the players, with the best, not the favorites, being played, Spencer would still have the support of the majority of the fanbase, even if the record wasn’t there. Too often the team just frankly gave up and after a year and a half of watching that, with the same players featuring day in and day out, it became obvious he was losing this owner and fanbase.
You really need to stop commenting now.
It’s not unrealistic to expect at least one road win by now and a victory over Cal FC. Have you been watching the Timbers? It’s not about arrogance or expecting to win titles in their first or second year. Their form is horrid and they’re a dispirited bunch, young players not progressing and some regressing.
Amos is/was a decent coach and (I’m banking on the belief that Wilkinson has made most of the personnel decisions) knows what Gavin has been trying to build for the team. Not saying Mr. Wilkinson has made the right moves but if Merrit Paulson has any faith left in Mr. Wilkinson the right move would be to promote Amos to head coach.
If Paulson has no faith in Gavin he makes him head coach for the rest of the season and begins to look for a new GM.
Too early to call, but I would say it was too early for a second year side to cut their coach as well. This is not Europe, there is no relegation, it makes no sense to change so quickly. You have to give things time or else you do end up in a TFC situation with too much turnover and you have to start all over again.
+1 for Steve Nicol.
He understands MLS just fine. Like mentioned above he was assistant under Kinnear and played in the league as a player. I dont know what you base your comment on.
He seems like a great guy, I hope he sticks around MLS.
tyler is the new simon borg – thanks for the unfounded bold prediction.
Portland is the new TFC
First I doubt Clark Hunt will ever fire Hyndman. How ever if he does it will only be after everyone gets healthy and the team is still losing.
My hope for FCD is to get another striker who can play up top when Blas Perez is injured or on national team duty.
much better idea!
+1 hope he returns as an assistant or moves down to coach a lower div/ncaa team. good guy just not pro head coach quality.
Two words: Steve Nicol. He’s the best coach available right now. Curt Onalfo and Denis Hamlett are also solid options, if you want someone with MLS experience.
UK or European coaches who don’t understand the intricacies of MLS don’t survive. Buy American!
“Yes, MLS is set up on parity so expansion teams are competitive, but that same parity exposes inexperience and ineffectiveness of front offices over the course of a season.”
+1,000
Parity as a concept is never meant as a free lunch or to force mediocrity amongst teams in the league, it is meant to guarantee that smart management, not oil money, can lead to success. Every team can THEORETICALLY win and improve their team without major changes in their economic status, but that does not mean every team will. Good and bad teams will emerge, but how we get to that point is determined in a much more equitable, just way. If you think parity doesn’t allow for good and bad teams, I suggest you watch some of the tape from the Heat-Bobcats games last year.
Also agree that fans in places like Portland need to calm down. Just because you care more collectively about your team than say Columbus does in no means you ‘deserve’ better results or the like, or that you necessarily will perform better. As a neutral, seems like Portland is just mad that Seattle has had a ton of success in their first couple years, attracts almost double the fans Portland does, etc. and wants to stop that. Kudos.
It may not be “unrealistic”, to expect playoffs in the first year, but it’s greedy and frankly insulting to the league. News flash… MLS is tougher than it looks.
Does a promoted team in England get their panties in a wad if they don’t finish mid-table? They’re usually thankful to avoid immediate relegation.
New owners like Paulson and Saputo are spoiled brats the way they “demand” immediate success.
Yes, MLS is set up on parity so expansion teams are competitive, but that same parity exposes inexperience and ineffectiveness of front offices over the course of a season.
Time to call Sven…
Didn’t make the playoffs, but were close. Within a point or two.
good personality, decent coach. seems a little harsh given it’s a second year team and that they made the playoffs, but this season they’re in second to last place. hard to argue. plus his style of play was not that great.
You’re kidding right?!?! Magee was only on the coaching staff as Gavin’s mole so he could report back about what was going on with the team. Gavin and Amos are sipping the bubbly right now celebrating getting John the sack. John was not a good coach but as the saying goes the Timbers have jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
Schellas Hyndman should be next on the coaches chopping block. FCD has been terrible for over a year and he leans on another excuse for each loss.
Poor player rotation killed the team last year. Two years now of not having a person to play striker has killed us. Sure we got one this year but he got broken on his national team duty. Injuries have plagued the team this year but he still fails to make substitutions at opportune time. Like this past Saturday, the team goes up a man and no offensive sub is made, he leaves the the game on a draw and a sub left in his pocket… His decisions to lean on Daniel Hernandez as the set piece guy has been a complete failure. He’s not the guy for this team. He got lucky in 2010 by having some stars align at the right time. He’s proven he cannot manage an MLS team to success. He needs to be replaced.
Caleb Porter!!!! The season’s all but lost for Portland so why not make a run at Porter. Despite the short comings of the U-23’s he’s still a top up-and-coming coach. But would Poulson be willing to have over the reigns to yet another unprove head coach?
I wondered how long this would take. I liked his press conferences, but his tactics clearly weren’t working. Getting it wide and hitting crappy crosses for Boyd to chase does not work.
Kevin,
I would have to agree with you, especially after watching them play RSL. This team is built in the image that Spencer has of soccer: big, fast, and/or hardnosed players with little technical skills, kick it long, cross it in, in the British mold. There were so few players on that team that showed any skill on the ball (and they were awful defensively especially in 1 v 1’s). It was all about speed and long balls. They were the most unskillful team RSL has played all year(and that includes the early version of Chivas USA who were bad, but at least defended like Banshees). Come on Mr. Deep Pockets, bring in a weird wacky liberal soccer genius that would fit Portland to a t (and bring exciting attacking soccer and develop youth system like it should be): Marcelo Bielsa, who supposedly has resigned from Athletic Bilbao.
I’ll miss Spencer’s post-game reactions and commentary. I really think he should get a color commentary gig. His fiery personality is his best characteristic; not his coaching abilities.
Fabio Capello to Portland!
Spencer was a great assistant coach to Kinnear for the Houston Dynamo. It’s really unfortunate that he was released from the Timbers. This is probably the first time I’ve seen 3 MLS coaches fired from their respective clubs. People are being more demanding of their teams and that’s great but I feel some are a little out of touch with reality. The Timbers are still roughly a new club and they’re only halfway through the current MLS season. They could’ve waited til this season was done before making a decision, that way he could be analyzed over his first 2 years and determine if the organization is moving in the direction that the front office desires.
It took RSL years to develop under Kreis? You might want to check that theory. He took over the team as coach after the start of the 2007 season. He went from 27 points his first season to 40 points the next. Sometimes the players are just a crappy fit, and trading out an entire roster wholesale during the season really can’t be done all that effectively.
The team has been performing poorly enough since day 1 to deserve a firing. He was a terrible hire, and that can be put squarely on the shoulders of Gavin Wilkinson who is as bad, if not worse, as a coach than Spencer.
The expectations aren’t too high in Portland, I don’t think. It is not unrealistic to think your team can at least make the playoffs in their expansion year. The Sounders did that fairly comfortably. What is unrealistic is to think that you can do it if Gavin Wilkinson is the guy filling the roster, and John Spencer is the one selecting it.
Alot of turnover amongst MLS coaches. If you want a nice cushy job with good pay, job security and you don’t have to move then become a college coach.
good to see a team not stand by mediocrity and underachieving. They know what the fans want and are trying to deliver a team they can be proud of.
This coach never saw a long ball he didn’t like. Glad to have him out of MLS and hopefully out of American Soccer altogether. He should be sent to some British swampy outpost where they share his obsession with 19th century tactics.
Not a Timbers fan, but for me this is just too quick. This is an expansion side that is a year and a half into their existence. He almost made the playoffs last year. Of course they are not a good team, but they should struggle. That is the nature of being an expansion side.
I hate to break this to you Timbers fans, but you are not under performing. Your team is just not that good. It takes time to develop a really good side and it is just pure arrogance to believe that you can come into this league right away and just start winning titles. There are some really good established teams in this league.
Now, I am not saying that Spencer was a good coach. Maybe his style is not the direction that the ownership wanted to go. But, the team was not performing so poorly as to warrant a mid-year firing. The Timbers talent simply does not matchup with the playoff teams in this league and that was evidenced on Saturday against RSL.
So for me as an objective observer, expectations are just unrealistically too high in Portland. The next coach will not immediately do better. The organization needs to pick a coach and system and then give him time to develop the players necessary to win. It took RSL years to build under Kreis. Now they are probably the most consistent and stable on-field franchise in MLS, but that never would have happened if Checketts pulled the plug in his second year.
I was upset when RBNY wouldn’t give him a chance but at least he was a role right now with U-17’s. He’ll be coaching in the MLS eventually.
Currently running the U17s.
I don’t care who the Timbers hire, so long as it someone that wants to play attractive football. It was the little things about Spencer’s coaching that drove me CRAZY. Like how every distribution from Perkins has to be in the air, to the striker. Goal kicks, drop kicks, to Cooper/Boyd. We lost possession on those, literally, > 75% of the time.
Secondly, I’d love to see someone that actually tries to play the game with who we have. We’ve seen nothing but a steady stream of people come in here (7 of the 14 guys that played vs RSL were new this season alone), but our tactics never change. I can only think of a couple times our formation ever changed. Same system, different faces, not a way to build a club.
Amos Magee. Boom! Done!
As a Sounder fan, I’m sad to see the underperforming little guy go. As a fan of MLS, he was around longer than he should have been. He was an awful coach. I’m sure he’d make a great assistant, the guy who runs practices. But as a head coach, he’s all wrong.
will miss his tude.
…and I would like to see a team give Richie Williams a chance. He deserves the opportunity.
I’m torn about this. On the one hand, his tactics and substitutions were sometimes baffling and seemed to indicate a serious coaching deficiency. On the other hand, the consistency of the players on the field has been just as infuriating. Oh well, hopefully Merritt has someone in mind because I don’t want to see Gavin Wilkinson at the helm for more than a couple games.
In other news, the sky is blue.
No surprises here. Saw this one coming a long time ago.