"The Portland Timbers won their first playoff game in four years last fall, but the 2025 season was otherwise largely a disappointment. After a relatively strong start, the Timbers won just two of their final 14 games-limping to a middling eighth place finish in the Western Conference and doing little to arrest the notion that the club has regressed both on and off the field."
"This year, the Timbers are mainly running it back: Ned Grabavoy and Phil Neville are returning as general manager and head coach, and, with a few exceptions, the roster remains largely unchanged from where it sat last November. If the Timbers are to engineer a revival in fortunes this season, much of the improvement will have to come from within. Here are the five major questions facing the club as it prepares for its sixteenth MLS season."
"In Neville's first season in Portland two years ago, the three-headed monster of Evander, Jonathan Rodriguez, and Felipe Mora powered the Timbers attack by scoring 45 of the club's 65 regular season goals. But Evander forced a move to Cincinnati ahead of last season, Rodriguez missed nearly the entire year with a knee injury, Mora's goalscoring production cratered, and the Timbers' attack all but collapsed as a result."
The Portland Timbers registered a lone playoff win but delivered an otherwise disappointing 2025 season after winning only two of their final 14 matches and finishing eighth in the Western Conference. The team lost key attacking production when Evander departed, Jonathan Rodriguez missed nearly the season with a knee injury, and Felipe Mora declined, leaving the attack depleted and the club with just 41 goals. Replacement David Da Costa struggled through a shoulder injury and produced limited contributions, while Kristoffer Velde arrives for his first full season with expectations. Much of any turnaround will need to come from internal improvement.
Read at Portland Mercury
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