In the midst of a busy offseason, this week Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter is making time to observe a host of top clubs, both on the training pitch and in games. Porter’s current destination: London and, more specifically, the English Premier League.
Porter’s week-long trip abroad will see him observe training sessions at several top clubs, including Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham, as well as opportunities to take in several Premier League clashes. Porter was able to see the Chelsea first team and U-21s train the last few days, and watched the Tottenham first team Friday with West Ham on tap Saturday.
The Timbers head coach traveled to watch Crystal Palace versus Aston Villa on Tuesday night, and Wednesday night, he was in attendance in the adidas box at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea defeated Tottenham, 3-0. Next up is Palace at Tottenham on Saturday and Swansea at West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Added up, Porter will have seen four different matches across London over an eight-day window during his trip before returning to Portland.
“Fortunately an opportunity was made available by the Timbers organization to take a trip overseas, so I jumped at the chance,” Porter said. “It's obviously been a great week immersing myself in the football culture in the UK.”
While not the first trip of this nature for Porter, who’s had the opportunity to study inside some of the top clubs around the world in his career, the chance to observe the way other high-level managers and prominent clubs approach their training sessions and matches provides a valuable opportunity to continue improving his methodology with the Timbers.
“I’ve picked up a few new training twists, and seeing live matches at this level you always steal some ideas from each team’s system of play and game tactics,” Porter said.
And with the 2015 MLS season already just around the corner, Porter says his week-long visit to England has been beneficial in a number of ways.
“It's gotten my wheels turning for the new season for sure, and the trip has been well worth it."
