This isn’t going to come as a shock to anybody who follows me on Twitter, but I’m a big fan of Portland owner Merritt Paulson. Or better put, I’m a big fan of the way he goes about his business (I don’t know the guy personally). Via his always active Twitter account, he’s constantly connected to the Portland faithful, and his honest (sometimes brutally honest) way of interacting with followers provides a refreshing alternative to the sterile no-speak communications departments are hired to churn out.
Organizations are always talking about how to keep The Conversation going (as if “The Conversation” was a lead in to The Closer that TNT was trying to bleed another season out of), but you don’t do that through sunshine and happiness press releases. You do it by being up front and honest, an approach so rare its elicits a mild, unspoken shock from the fan base. That’s why Paulson’s social media presence polarizes, dividing people between those that get it and those nostalgic for fax machines and teletype. it’s not exactly something out of MLS 1.0’s instruction manual.
The Best Soccer Show podcast caught some of Paulson’s brutal honesty yesterday, their ranging interview covering three topics I found particularly interesting:
1. U.S. Soccer will not be playing a Hex match at Jeld-Wen – We suspected it. Paulson confirmed it. Portland has taken a stand on laying temporary sod on top of their FieldTurf surface. U.S. Soccer has taken a stand on giving them a qualifier. CONCACAF may not have a problem with it. USSF does.
I think it’s ridiculous, but I’ve covered that ground before. Lumping all turf fields together is like lumping all natural surfaces together. As Paulson concedes in the interview, grass would be preferable, but is that enough to take Jeld-Wen off the list entirely? As Dan Gargan implied, perhaps it is, but when turf antagonists Thierry Henry and David Beckham have no problem with Portland (as Paulson details in the interview), maybe others should re-think their stances, too?
2. Cascadia Cup controversy – Paulson didn’t comment on it directly. He said he’d been asked not to, but he did predict the lingering dispute between Major League Soccer and Pacific Northwest supporters groups will be resolved amicably. Breaking out my Official Read Between the MLS Lines Handbook, it sounds like the league is committed to working with, not stonewalling, supporters.
3. Timbers, league weren’t sold on Diskerud as a Designated Player – This was by far the most interesting tidbit from the interview. When asked why Portland’s negotiations with U.S. international Mix Diskerud broke down, Paulson said the deal that fell apart at the last-minute wasn’t completed because Diskerud would have had to be made a Designated Player.
That shouldn’t be a surprise given Diskerud’s earning potential in Europe. What’s surprising is Portland seemed to be close to getting the 22-year-old on a non-Designated Player deal. However, when the price went into the special compensation range, not only did Portland and the Major League Soccer home office have problems with the pact, it forced the Timbers to choose: Diskerud or Diego Valeri? And we know how they chose.
I’m not sure I would have made the same choice. Let’s take it as a given Valeri’s a better player. Portland knows more about that comparison than we do, and we should take their word on it until well after March 2. There is still a certain caché to being the first to lure a young American back from Europe. I wouldn’t have been able to resist.
Again reading between the lines, it sounds like Diskerud was interested in playing for Caleb Porter, was willing to leave some of his European money on the table, but ultimately he wasn’t willing to make the kind of concessions necessary to fit into Portland’s plans.
It’s an understandable decision on both parts. Diskerud pursued an option that didn’t quite pan out, while Portland wasn’t ready to draw up a new game plan. But from the point of view from a soccer-loving Statesider, it’s hard not to feel like something slipped through our fingers.
Here’s the whole interview:
