Portland Timbers Reflections After their Abrupt Elimination from the Play Offs Race

OCTOBER 25 2024 – BEAVERTON, OR:  Phil Neville during MLS 2024 MLS Season ending press conference by the Portland Timbers (photos by Diego G Diaz).

The Portland Timbers had a bad night on last Wednesday when Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps delivered one of their best performances in rivalry history at Providence Park with a 5-0 win. Heading to the showers after such defeat is not an easy trek, and tempers are known to flare up in such moments. The same can be said from the fans, that walk to Max light rail or to the car park, and the journey home left quite a trail of “literature” on social media and comment sections. It was one of those nights that in the heat of the moment many would question everything related on and off the pitch of Portland’s football cathedral.

Three days later, in the calm of the press room at the club’s training facility away from the buzzing downtown in Beaverton, general manager Ned Grabavoy, head coach Phil Neville, and a select group of players answered our questions about the wildcard game debacle and Evander’s post match comments that had generated a bit of controversy.

The tone of the conversation was a humble admittance of a disappointing season where its main objective of qualifying for the 2024 MLS Playoffs wasn’t achieved. Beyond what happened last Wednesday, there were a number of missed opportunities during all season.

The hour long press conference is divided here in two episodes. Part 1 holds the comments by Grabavoy and Neville. Part 2 is the comments from defender Kamal Miller, break through youngster David Ayala, and forward Felipe Mora.