Winless in seven straight MLS matches, it's no stretch to say that the Portland Timbers are struggling right now. But if the Timbers are looking for a shoulder to cry on, they ought not seek out head coach John Spencer:


Spencer chatted with a few media types after today's practice Jeld-Wen and seemed to be running low on patience with his team's fragile confidence. "You can only kiss people's asses so much," Spencer said, noting the coddling nature of youth and college soccer in no way matches the big leagues. "At the professional level, you need to man up. There's no hiding place out here."

He also called for increased individual effort out of his squad, which surrendered two leads to arch-rival Seattle on Sunday in a crushing 3-2 loss that exposed a defense "in shambles." Spencer isn't amused, and hinted that some new faces may be brought in to shake things up.

"You can't individually hold their hands on the field, and get them to be coached every single second of every single game," Spencer said. "You've got to take some responsibility for yourself... You have to do your job."