The last time the Portland Timbers took the field for a competitive match, they suffered what was easily among the most humiliating defeats in club history: a 5-0 drubbing, at home, in a playoff game, against a Vancouver Whitecaps team that was about to fire its coach. 

On Sunday afternoon, February 23, the Timbers will return to Providence Park for the first time since that night—facing the same Whitecaps team and plenty of questions after the sale of star midfielder Evander to Cincinnati earlier in the week.

Can they replace Evander?

Evander, for all the fractiousness off the field, produced what was easily one of the best single seasons in Timbers history last year. 

His 34 goal contributions eclipsed even the 32 that Diego Valeri poured in during his 2017 MVP campaign—and that was despite Evander playing nearly 400 fewer minutes than Valeri played that year. 

Evander only failed to register a goal or an assist in eight of his 27 regular season starts, and he had multiple goal contributions in 11 of those starts. A number of those goals won the Timbers points, and the attention Evander drew from opposing teams was paramount in unlocking other areas of the Timbers’ attack.

Replacing him will be, to state the obvious, extraordinarily challenging. But that’s what the Timbers have tried to do rather directly—turning to David da Costa, a Portuguese attacker who has spent the last four years with the first team at RC Lens in France’s Ligue 1, as the club’s newest Designated Player. 

At just 24 years old, Da Costa has plenty of upside. He’s regarded as an unusually committed and effective defender for an attacking playmaker, which could be quite significant for the Timbers, and manager Phil Neville has sung his praises so far.

But it’d be a surprise if Da Costa comes close, at least early in his MLS career, to matching Evander’s attacking production or creativity. In more than 100 appearances with Lens, the Portuguese’s numbers were relatively modest: just 11 goals and 17 assists. If he’s not somewhere close to excellent, the Timbers could struggle to create the volume of chances they had last year. 

Of course, plenty of the onus for replacing Evander’s production will also fall on returning players. Of that group, however, Jonathan Rodriguez is starting the season hurt and both he and Felipe Mora are on the wrong side of 30. Some regression from 2024 wouldn’t be shocking. 

Did they fix the defense?

The Timbers had one big problem in 2024: they couldn’t defend. 

The Timbers conceded 56 goals, a league-worst—12 of which came from set pieces—which was tied for the club’s worst defensive mark in its MLS history. The underlying defensive numbers weren’t quite so dire, but they backed the notion that the Timbers’ defending was nowhere near good enough to compete for trophies. 

The defensive struggles—mental lapses, gaps within and between lines, uneven goalkeeping—weren’t obviously the result of talent issues. The Timbers had plenty of veteran defenders who’d had success at various points of their MLS careers. 

But whether it was individual defensive regression, including from Diego Chará and the attacking unit, or a collective lack of confidence, system-wide issues plagued the defense all year before culminating in that spectacular collapse against Vancouver. 

All of the key defenders from last year are back, joined by a few new faces: Joao Ortiz, a central midfielder signed from Ecuador, could help ease the burden on soon-to-be-39-year-old Chará. Jimer Fory, signed from Independiente Medellín in Colombia, may replace Claudio Bravo at left back. Finn Surman, signed last summer, may be in line for significant time at center back. 

But while all of those players may have considerable upside, none are likely to be defensive anchors or even clear upgrades over players the Timbers are returning at their respective positions. 

If the Timbers are to improve defensively, that improvement is likely going to have to come from identifying a primary personnel group, solidifying the team’s structure, and getting the most out of a group of serviceable if unspectacular players.

Can Phil Neville build a winner?

Whether you think any of that will happen is likely, at least in part, a question of how much you believe in Neville. 

Since arriving amid much skepticism last winter, the English manager has done plenty to endear himself to Timbers fans: he’s embraced the club’s history, attempted to connect with supporters, and spoken with feeling about how much he’s enjoying his time in the city. 

One of those reflections came after an August derby victory against Seattle, which was perhaps the highpoint of a summer resurgence that was very much connected to Neville’s ability to get the most out of his best players—particularly Evander, who has now departed. 

In other ways, however, Neville has done little to silence questions about his managerial acumen. Neville has now been an MLS manager for three-and-a-half seasons, during which time he has amassed a win percentage well below 40 percent and suffered a pair of heavy defeats in his only playoff games.

There were times last year when Neville appeared to have no answers for the Timbers’ struggles beyond shuffling personnel, and at no point did he address one of the most essential building blocks for competitive teams: the construction of a solid structure to play out of week after week—the kind of structure that should set up the defensive side of the game. 

Neville has spoken frequently about his desire for the Timbers to play expansive, attacking soccer, and the Timbers were certainly entertaining last year. To take a step forward this year, they need to get more of the fundamentals right. 

How much pressure are they facing?

With Evander’s departure and the addition of a number of younger players, this could be construed as a rebuilding year of sorts for the Timbers: an opportunity for the club to focus on development and transition to the next era. 

If the Timbers want to go the development route—and Neville has suggested it’s a priority—we should see plenty of minutes and plenty of patience for players like Da Costa, Ortiz, Fory, Surman, David Ayala, Antony, Kevin Kelsy, and so on. 

But the Timbers still have plenty of top-end talent and, one would expect, some urgency to get back to winning ways: after making the playoffs for five straight years starting in 2017, they haven’t finished higher than eighth in the Western Conference in any of the last three years and haven’t scored a playoff goal since Mora’s in MLS Cup 2021. 

With Ned Grabavoy entering his third full season as general manager and Neville entering his second season as manager, it is not at all unreasonable to expect clear signs of progress. But as the season begins, it’s Evander’s departure, and its rancorous nature, that has stolen the headlines. 

In a message posted to Instagram following the announcement of his departure for Ohio, Evander wrote that he “wasn’t given a choice” about his departure because “decisions were made by people who not only disrespected me but also my family.”

“I move on, but I will always be rooting for you,” the Brazilian wrote. “Because you deserve a club that matches the love and passion you give.”