We all know how great the atmosphere for Portland Timbers home games is. Even as a Seattle Sounders fan, I have to admit that Jeld-Wen Field can be pretty cool on gameday. But there's a flip side to that, at least according to Timbers coach John Spencer:
Who’s To Blame For Timbers’ Slow Start? The Fans, Of Course
“It’s a very difficult place to play. The fans think that just because you have a world-class atmosphere, you’re supposed to have a world-class team. But it takes time to build a quality team.”
I don’t know about you, but it sure looks to me like Spencer is actually putting some of the blame for the Timbers’ 2-5-1 start on his fans being too passionate, and the rest of the article seems to be back up that reading. Of course, this doesn’t really explain why the Timbers are 2-2 at home and just 0-3-1 on the road, a trend that goes back to last year...
What apparently makes it worse, at least according to the author of the article, is that these same fans then have the audacity to go onto “soccer-specific websites” (like our own Stumptown Footy, I suppose) and complain about how awful their team is playing.
Now, to be fair, the players seem to appreciate that pressure is kinda part of being a professional athlete. But their coach? Well, maybe he’s starting to feel just wee bit of pressure.
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