Off the Crossbar, Episode 7: Philadelphia, Portland and expansion

We hope you're in for the long haul, because there's a lot to talk about this week on Off the Crossbar.

Introduction

Jason Greenwood returns to the show after a brief absence through injury - I mean, illness - and he's joined today by Trevor Brady and me, Matthew Montgomery.

Philadelphia Union

We talk about last week's match against Philadelphia Union - that 2-2 draw - with particular focus on set pieces, and how we really, truly screwed one up. But it's not all unhappy: That Kyle Beckerman goal lives large in our minds, and there's some good praise to go around the team.

Portland Timbers

To kick things off, we talk to Will Conwell of Stumptown Footy about Portland Timbers. Why is it, exactly, they've had a poor start to their season? Will takes our questions with aplomb.

We move on to our side, and our attention's spread wide across the team. We wonder ourselves about Portland and who might deploy in the midfield on Saturday. This prompts us to wonder about a few other things: What's the backup midfield like? Our forwards? What do we need to worry about?

Expansion

With the announcement of Atlanta as an MLS side in 2017, we wonder about what conferences will look like down the line, and we rue the day that expansion drafts claim players we just don't want to give up.

Listener questions

We answer your questions, and there were some good ones today. We talk about Olmes Garcia, Alvaro Saborio, and much more.