Merritt Paulson was left to rue what might have been after a 'strange' season for the Portland Timbers.
The Timbers finished in sixth place on the Western Conference table, a point behind Vancouver Whitecaps, who qualified for the MLS play-offs.
Owner Paulson admits it was a bizarre campaign for his Portland team although he does feel the club has progressed from their Conference-topping 2013 season.
"It was a strange year, to be sure..." Paulson said on MLS' Timbers in 30 program.
"The adage of 'it's not how you start, it's how you finish' didn't hold true for us this year."
He added: "If you peel that back a little bit, this is a team that is very much a good team. In many ways it's a progression from last year.
"But again, there's some real, real positives that I look at in the foundation of the team that's being built.
"Things didn't go our way. There's no question we made it hard on ourselves; we didn't get a lot of luck. But this is a very exciting, very good team that is easily a playoff-caliber team.
"There's no question in my mind this is a top-five team in the West. Are we as good as LA or Seattle, this year? Probably not. But we're as good as anybody else, at least."
