How do you think TnT did today in the El Salvador game? I thought he started a bit slowly, and was hampered by the bad weather conditions and lack of service. But he showed his trademark hustle and intelligent play. It can't be easy playing with a whole new cast of characters for the first time.
The Salvadoran backline didn't give him any space to work in. The upside is that his hard work allowed more room in front of the defense that the US exploited again and again. I suppose one could call that a "lack of service," but when the defense leaves attacking players plenty of good options OTHER than getting the ball to the guy up top, and they take advantage of those opportunites, calling it "lack of service" seems like misplaced negativity. TT didn't disgrace himself, but he didn't have many opportunities to shine. I have to imagine he'll be in the next camp.
This has been pointed out in another thread, but Twellman played an important part in the second goal. When he made his run through the box he dragged his defender with him, opening up the space for Victorine to run into. There were also a few occasions where he seemed to be making good runs but wasn't picked out. There was one time in particular where it looked like he would have been in alone on goal had Mathis played the ball to him. Finally, he had that one great tackle and showed good balance to stay on his feet and steer the ball over to Klein on the wing. Overall I'd give him a B. Was it just me, or was Cullen invisible out there?
i don't think cullen was "invisible" out there. defensively....i don't remember him too much. however, he did get a couple of nice crosses (although with no real end connection) into the box if i'm not mistaken. i agree with the "taylor did not disgrace himself" assessment. there was a low cross near the end of the game...that had it been just curving away from the goal mouth another yard or so would have been right at taylor's run. it stayed a bit too straight and a bit too parallel to the mouth though. granted, e.s. ain't no world power...but, i saw hope for the future here. i said to my friends after the u.s. v china match in '01 (i believe out in oakland) that donovan will eventually drop back from being a forward on the nats and will take over reyna's responsibilities someday. i still think that's a distinct possibility. he's a bit too valuable to lose running toward the goal though. sorry, know its not really "rev related"....but does anyone else see him eventually settling into o-mid? back to taylor....this guy has got to develop a better first touch. it really is attrocious most of the time. his trapping was pretty bad all year and it didn't seem too much better today. i think he's great at finding space in the box...and with service he's great. however, i just don't seem him gaining the ability of donovan, or even ruiz, to create something out of nothing. maybe he's not that kind of player and maybe he doesn't need to become that type...we'll see.
I don't know, I remember quite a few times this past season where Taylor seemed to create something out of nothing. How about the final game against the MetroStars when he pushed the ball to one side of the defender, ran around the other side, and took a low hard shot that rebounded to Wolde for a Revolution goal? Or when he did the same thing, Pele-style, to Rimando? Or the game against D.C. where he nutmegged the defender before scoring? Or his backheel that led to a Chacon goal? His first touch wasn't great at the beginning of the match, but I feel that it got better as the game progressed. And the conditions weren't ideal for first touches. He's not going to the most skilled player on the U.S. squad, but I don't think his first touch is that bad.
I really like Taylors hustle and hope he repeats/improves on last seasons performance but I do have two criticisms of his play. Maybe they're more, things that worry me instead of problems with his play. 1) His first touch isn't always the best. 2) He doesn't seem to have much speed. There are many times this year and yesterday where I thought to myself, if he was just a little faster, or trapped that ball a little better he probably would have scored. You have to love his heart though.
Twellman/Brown I thought TT played pretty well, considering he didn't see much ball. Great game for Ben Olsen. I'm more concerned about Adin. Soccer365 says he and DMB didn't play due to injury. I knew about Beas. Any word on Brown?
I've only watched the first hour on tape so far, but I thought Twellman played very intelligently. Not only was he a useful decoy on the 2nd goal, but he made a good near post run on the first goal that probably had something to do with why Olsen had only one defender to deal with. With more solid mid-field play, he probably would have done a lot better.
obviously tt can be clever with the ball. i just meant that he has a much harder time than most of the "superstars" in mls to take someone from a one on one position and leave them in his wake. i don't really know if its a skill that he can develop and i don't even know if its that important anyway....it'd be nice though. who know what he was thinking, but b.a. seemed to have some genuinely positive things to say as taylor came off. let's hope that's a good sign. i wouldn't be shocked to see tt on the gold cup squad. however, this year presents an interesting dilemma since the tourney is scheduled during the overseas off-season.
Taylor did a lot off the ball and created the space for the second goal. He can't score if they can't get him the ball and I don't think he got any good feeds from his mates yesterday. There's too much pressure on him right now to score. Donovan was almost invisible yesterday but nobody's rating his game. Lousy field, new team, no feeds/no chances all add up to don't judge him too harshly on yesterday's game. Mathis didn't score either. He deserves more games to get to into the flow before anyone should judge him.
You know, this entire discussion was very sound until these points. Donovan's game is being discussed on the US News and Analysis board, and while a few people accuse him of being invisible, the bulk of the views (and the more well-supported take) is that he played a defensive, deep-lying game, a very similar role to what Arena asks of Reyna. His job wasn't to be a playmaking attacker-- it was to distribute the ball and get the attack going, and he did that really well. The Mathis point is really poorly taken. His perfect fake and pass put Victorine through, and played a fantastic game. If "not scoring" is the only thing you base a rating on, you have a lot to learn about soccer. No one should "judge" him? Ridiculous. He played eighty minutes, and there's a bit to judge him on. I think he acquitted himself really well, to be honest, and I want to see him playing more for the US. But you're not making your point well by somehow implying that Mathis and Donovan played no better than Twellman. That they both did show much more than Twellman was very, very obvious. You feel like you should back up your guy, but he doesn't need your kind of backing up. He played a pretty good game, and I can't imagine Razov, or Wolff, or maybe even McBride, having done a better job under the circumstances.
Real simple and real quick: Twellman and the rest of yesterdays' line-up will play better as a team (while also playing to their individual strengths) when they develop a better working familiarity with one another. The misdirected passes, poor anticipation, and inability to spread the field are entirely understandable in a game such as this, with Twellman being subject to the circumstances just like anyone else. Twellman displayed his trademark strong work-rate and made some good runs into open space. When he wasn't finding good opportunities to link up with the U.S. midfield, he still found ways to contribute by drawing defenders with him that opened up space for the likes of Mathis and Olsen, and he showed good defensive capability in the Salvadorans defensive third, doing what he could to win the ball back or at least disrupt transition play. The potential's there, the talent is there, it's just going to take a while to smooth the rough edges. Twellman will get a better sense of what to expect from his teammates, and that recognized anticipation will serve him and the Nat's well in the future. The sum total of Twellman's game is not necessarily the number of goals he can score. He didn't have the best of games yesterday but it was not at all bad for his first senior match at international level. As Haig said, I want to see more of him (and the other U.S. players for that matter) and these games are good in hashing out systems that work, partnerships that work, etc. It's not about Mathis being better or Donovan being better. Nobody had a great game here, but there were any number of good things to take away from it. Let's keep the hero worship in check, let's take a measured attitude about things and Hell, le'ts just be happy to see two Rev players earn their first cap in all of this. It's just reward for Twellman and Cullen to earn their first caps yesterday, doing so in a win in terrible conditions. The Magpie
I agree that TnT played an intelligent game with good runs and some nice passes. Taylor has never distinguished himself with straight out speed and some of the passes to him might have been reached by a faster player. He does have a very quick first step which, combined with his timing, gets him the space needed to score. The wet field was going to hamper anyone trying to accelerate quickly on the first step and TnT had his feet slip out from under him a few times in the early going. Overall, a reasonable first game, but whether he is fast enough to start at this level remains an open question.
I think Twellman demonstrated he can do the type of job McBride has done for the team. His work rate, pressure play, and ball holding/target play and distribution all looked promising. Arena knows he can finish. No one expects him to be the second coming of Michael Owen in the open field. I think he had a very solid first showing and may well eventually win a prominent place on this team.
people keep talking about what taylor did on the second goal, but if I am not mistaken it was Taylor that drew two defenders with him on a near post run on olson's goal. this left olson 1v1 and losely covered. Taylor put in a very decent showing for himself,,,,its not that last time we see him in a nats uniform.
i thought he played well. but it looked to me like he was disappointed of his game. whenever there was an opportunity for him to score, there was also that sigh of frustration when he couldn't produce...or maybe it's just me.