http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=268556&cc=5901 Marc gives his take on why Twellman is so dreamy. I hadn't realized that Coach Clive had given him the shaft for the 2000 Olymipcs. If Bruce doesn't give him another chance soon we'll start to yell conspiracy!
without a doubt il bruce will give him a GOOD look. i think BA's first objective is to put the best 11, that being the best team, on the field. it's difficult because TT's style of play usually necessitates an opportunistic passer, which is why i think he'd be great paired with landon, or having LD as a withdrawn forward, but i don't think BA would ever do that. BA seems to always like at least 1 big target forward and in the case of venezuela, he had 2 -- mcbride and kirvovski. but without a doubt, TT will have his chance, if not only because of his finishing and attitude alone.
If the MLSnet.com rosters are accurate, he's one inch shorter and four pounds heavier than McBride. That makes me think the size issue is overblown.
To me, TT is a McBride type player who finishes. They both play hard and get about 3 or 4 chances a game. However, with McBride you don't know if he's going to get that 1 in 4 chances or not. With TT you know he's going to put one in. Bruce would be stupid not to include him in the National team picture.
McBride is also adept at setting others up, and is much better with the ball at his feet. Not saying that won't come for Taylor, as McBride improved and developed throughout his career, but if we have to win a game tomorrow, I want McBride out there. That said, I hope Taylor makes the Confed Cup roster.
Hate to say it, but, TT looks like the next Jason Kreis. Excells at the club level, can't step it up at the interntional level.
why wasn't he picked From the article: "After scoring four goals with the under-20 National Team at the 1999 FIFA World Championships to earn the Bronze Ball as the tournament's third-leading goal scorer, Clive Charles didn't include him on his roster for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney." Does anybody know the details of why he wasn't chosen for the team? It doesn't sound like he was injured so was it personal politics? Was he bumped to make room for a Clive favorite? I recall Albright, Josh Wolff and Conor Casey were the forwards.
I'm hoping this isn't the case. I think if TT scores another 20+ this year and doesn't get fair chance (e.g. not 30 minutes in a torrential downpour against a bunkered team) that the fans will get pretty raw. As things are now, we only question Bruce A in hushed respectful words because he's almost always right in his decisions. But we (the fans who care enough to post on BS) as a group want goals, and if there's a guy putting in a boatload for his club I think the questioning of Bruce's choices will get louder. If we're seriously "experimented" with Victorine at right back, then I think a 20-gaol scorer deserves a chance somewhere on the field. For the record I don't think Kreis got a fair chance following his MVP year. Rob
Why do you think that? It seems like you're just mouthing a cliche so you'll seem informed. I don't know why I found this so annoying this time, but I did.
Anybody with the avatar you have, I don't mind annoying. But back to TT... There are going to be more people like Kreis, who excell in MLS but just aren't up to the international level, and to me, TT appears to be headed on that track. I hope he proves me wrong, but I just don't see the international game in him.
I can't believe anyone is ready to call Twellman a Kreis at the international level. I thought alot of the things he did during his opportunities was quite good, even though he wasn't able to get many chances on goal. Fourtunately well get a chance to see him this summer when he has had an opportunity to gel a bit more with LD and to learn where to make his runs.
i have to agree with chayes there superdave. i just have this feeling that he will be excellent when it comes to playing in mls but when it is time to step up to the international scene i just don't see him doing it; i cannot pinpoint all the reasons why but i just have that gut feeling when watching him. listen, i hope i am wrong and he can start putting the ball in the net for the national team like he does for the revolution but i just have this weird feeling that it isn't going to happen.
Revolution fans will be able to be happy with that. I think there the jury is still out on that, though. Last year - one knock on Twellman when compared to Ruiz, was that Twellman wasn't scoring goals late, when the game was on the line. Not true anymore - I think he's hit at least 3 in stoppage time or in OT to win or tie the game. Good for him - couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Twellman was left off the Olympic roster and Landon rode the bench. Clive Charles may be a good coach and an even better person, but can you imagine starting Chris Albright over TT or LD? We still finished 4th. We all know Olympic soccer is not that big a deal - but the American public doesn't. A Gold Medal will go a long way to helping the sport get more credit.
I think part of it, at least for me, is that Taylor looks like he's trying sooooo hard at the international level. His play doesn't seem "natural," whereas Donovan, Mathis, their play just seems to flow, like they're trying but it's not a struggle, which that's the feeling I get watching Twellman, is that it's a struggle at that level. Course, I agree that he really hasn't gotten a fair shot yet; his first call-ups weren't with all the regulars, which does make it harder. I have a feeling he'll do better this time around. At least I hope so.
chayes...in the case of Kreis, he 1) doesn't get to take free kicks for the Nats and 2) lacks the pace to get free in international competition. Plus, he's not a good enough finisher to justify making him the "dominant" striker. (By that, I mean, Kreis is NOT the guy you try to fit the other striker to. McBride and Mathis aren't a good combination, and to Bruce, McBride is the dominant striker...he'll sit Mathis rather than McBride to make the pairing fit.) So if you want to construct an argument around that, have at it. Personally, I think that TT's work rate make him a defensive asset, which Bruce likes. And I think he'd pair very well with a playmaking striker like Landon.
And you say this based on the vast sample of national team games he has played in...? Guess this puts you in with the company of that sage group of visionaries who predicted that TNT couldn't score again this year like he did last.
Born Too Late I'd like to see TT get a serious look, but have my doubts he's going to make it even if he does. If he was born 10 years earlier, he would have been a early-mid 90's Nat. Now he's just an updated Joe Max Moore in an era where we have better options. Here is the 1994 WC roster. TT could make that squad, and the 90 roster was even worse. Now he has McBride, Mathis and Donovan obviously ahead of him. I'd put a healthy Wolff ahead of him, and then there is Casey, Johnson, Buddle and of course Adu coming up. Blame Mr. and Mrs. Twellman, not Bruce: MEOLA Tony (GK) KOOIMAN Cle DOOLEY Thomas HARKES John STEWART Ernie (-81') RAMOS Tab WYNALDA Eric (-58') SORBER Michael BALBOA Marcelo CALIGIURI Paul LALAS Alexi Substitutes LAPPER Mike BURNS Mike PEREZ Hugo WEGERLE Roy (+58') SOMMER Juergen (GK) JONES Cobi (+81') KLOPAS Frank MOORE Joe-Max FRIEDEL Brad (GK) REYNA Claudio CLAVIJO Fernando
I think this quote from the article illuminates why some people don't see him being an international force: They can't pigeonhole him at one position or another, or as playing one style or another. All he does is score goals, but it's hard to often explain why. Hopefully he'll get his chances at the Confed Cup and even better, hopefully he'll come through. Nice piece by Connolly, btw.
Albright, I believe, played on the wing for the Olympic team, as Casey and Wolff started up top. He actually played pretty well in qualifying and at the games. Casey on the other hand was the mystery starter. Twellman was hurt by being in germany and not having won a Golden ball at a U-17 tournament.
better yet.... The Rost is just out. No McBride???? yet Twelly gets the nod. Very interesting indeedy. Whoopy