It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Portland Timbers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A new face in his position, and James Pantemis suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Portland Timbers have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
No fee and no fanfare: Diego Chará’s time at Portland Timbers ends with a handshake, and Sporting Kansas City collect a player for the price of his wages. Somebody will call it shrewd; time will name who.
2‑5 to LA Galaxy, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 27 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Portland Timbers is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Portland Timbers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Diego Chará will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Portland Timbers the goodbyes have quietly begun.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Portland Timbers has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Portland Timbers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Out, 0‑1 to San Diego Football Club, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Portland Timbers is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Portland Timbers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from Santos Laguna for Kevin Kelsy was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Portland Timbers is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“The easiest signature of my career.” José Luis Caicedo and Portland Timbers agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Portland Timbers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Still no offer on the table, and Felipe Mora’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Portland Timbers, and it is not being withdrawn.
José Luis Caicedo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.