Soccer: October 2005 Archives

A tip of the hat to the timberlog, for bringing the ecstatic news of the resignation of Timbers General Manager Jim Taylor and the dismissal of Coach Bobby Howe (text of the press release here). It had seemed to many that Bobby's time was far past overdue, as each game's tactics seemed to rest on a never-ending succession of long balls through the middle, subbing out the team's best striker, or not subbing at all and giving up crucial points in the last minutes of games.

Taylor's resignation comes as a surprise to many, though, and has been greeted with varying amounts of dismay from the Timbers Army. Despite the much-hashed-over headbutting from the end of last season, the general consensus held that Taylor had been a crucial supporter of the team to upper management, and that the team and fans have much to thank him for over the past five years.

Where the team goes from here is anyone's guess, although at the least, we hope that this news means that Byron and other team members who were thinking of leaving due to differences with Howe will reconsider. On our TrueFan wishlist once the next coach (Arsene Wenger or Rafa Benitez, natch) is hired: a fast striker or two, a deft midfielder to match Hugo on the left, a whole new back line (especially for when Scot eventually leaves), and a pony.