How 'bout that Taylor Twellman;LA-NE (R)

Discussion in 'USA Men' started by Chowderhead, Jul 5, 2003.

  1. Chowderhead

    Chowderhead Member

    Aug 3, 1999
    Central Falls, RI
    Brilliant goal, brilliant assist coming off the bench. Sorry, gang, but there's something special about Twellman.

    Fire away, but he deserves a SERIOUS look. Not 14 minutes with no service from Stewart.
     
  2. dawgpound2

    dawgpound2 Member

    Mar 3, 2001
    Los Angeles, CA
    I am speaking as a Galaxy fan. The Twellman assist was as pretty a goal as you would ever, EVER see in all of soccer. That was a fine game all the way around, other than a non-win.
     
  3. bunge

    bunge BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 24, 2000
    I fear that Twellman will follow the path of Jason Kreis. That is, he can succeed in MLS because he's allowed to do things he wouldn't get away with at the World Cup.
     
  4. StillKickin

    StillKickin Member+

    Austin FC
    Dec 17, 2002
    Texas
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    With Josh Wolff coming up lame yesterday, do you think Twellman might be brought in after all?
     
  5. The Magpie

    The Magpie Member

    Nov 19, 1998
    Cambridge, MA
    Actually, Kreis hasn't worked on on a national level for entirely different reasons, mainly - finding his opportunities with the National Team just coming out of their World Cup cycle and not showing enough in those matches to warrant consideration round about the start of qualifying.

    That could be the case with Twellman, especially with the glut of talent in the American offense, so should he get the nod as a replacement for Wolff, then he needs to show something now.

    That being said, it's commendable how he's managed to avoid a Sophomore slump to this point, even more impressive that unlike some of his peers at the top of the scoring charts, has not used PK's to pad his numbers.

    The Magpie
     
  6. Toolhead

    Toolhead Member

    Jul 6, 2003
    Williamsport, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Just curious Magpie, but what glut of talent are you speaking of? It's not like we have Owen or Ruud up front, we are having serious problems finding the back of the net. I say give Twellman plenty of PT in 3 or 4 games in a row before passing judgement on him. I like Twellman he's a scrapper, but I'm not sure thats good enough against world class players
     
  7. JohnnyRev

    JohnnyRev Member

    Feb 23, 2001
    Boston, MA
    In my view, Twellman is getting better. In the LA game, as soon as Twellman came in, the whole team shifted into a higher gear. If you keep your eye on him, you'll see he's all over the field, and constantly showing up in dangerous spots. Whether he can do that on the international level remains to be seen, but he is still learning and improving.
     
  8. The Magpie

    The Magpie Member

    Nov 19, 1998
    Cambridge, MA
    Just curious Magpie, but what glut of talent are you speaking of? It's not like we have Owen or Ruud up front, we are having serious problems finding the back of the net.

    Well if you're going to use those two players as a basis for what constitutes "talent," then hardly any American player would qualify, including the likes of Donovan or McBride.

    By talent I mean those existing National Team players ahead of Twellman on the depth chart: McBride, Donovan, Mathis (to some extent,) and Stewart.You also have any other number of players who could make their own case and push to challenge for spots including Wolff, Razov, Robinson, Buddle... the fact of the matter is this: tournaments like the Gold Cup are an evaluating tool for Bruce as he looks towards the start of qualification next year. All it takes is for one player to get hot for the Nat's at the right time and he could be the one Bruce goes to at that time.

    Twellman is an excellent player and no doubt he can carve himself a nice in Bruce Arena's plans. That being said and having had the chance to watch Twellman play in each of his National Team appearances, Taylor needs to adjust his game somewhat in order to better take advantage of his talents: those being a hard-working, tenacious player inside the box who's also quite strong in the air for a player his size. He's cut from something of the same cloth as Joe-Max Moore in terms of his work-rate and dedication, but he hasn't yet shown an ability to be truly effective from outside the 18... and that's the position where Twellman has seen the most time when playing for the Nat's.

    When playing for Bruce he does probably exactly what Bruce wants him to do, being a two-way player who is unselfish in helping out his teammates. Now, I'm not saying he doesn't do that with the Revs, he does... but with Bruce it looks like Twellman is trying too hard to appease the whims of his teacher.

    In short, Twellman's not been playing to his strengths for the National Team to this point. Granted, those games he's played have not been a lot of fun for him - concussions and playing with a 102 degree fever don't exactly lend themselves to great displays.

    But in those games Twellman's played more centrally, hanging back in midfield rather than looking to make runs into the box. If you look back his best chances to this point were in the New Zelanad match where he put a nasty-angled shot on net from about ten yards out, and in the Turkey match where he got in close and pounced on the ball, only to have his shot deflected away.

    I'll say this: with Wolff seemingly out, Twellman needs to show something in the Godl Cup provided he gets PT. It's time for him to be a bit more selfish, and it's time for him to start playing for himself and not for Bruce. Taylor's already shown that he'd walk over hot coals for his chance to play, so let him show what he can do now.

    The Magpie
     
  9. Toolhead

    Toolhead Member

    Jul 6, 2003
    Williamsport, PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Magpie, I misunderstood your use of "glut of talent in the american offense" and wasn't using Ruud or Owens as examples of what constitutes talented strikers. I meant that we don't have anyone of that caliber on the usmnt, so Twellman should be given an opportunity to claim a spot.
     
  10. Northcal19

    Northcal19 New Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    Celtic Tavern LODO (


    I think the whole Magpie post nails it, but I would add that when I watch Twellman on the international stage he appears to be just too slow. Footspeed, purely. Obviously he can score goals at MLS level, but at the international level there aren't as many scrappy goals and poor marking, or poor defensive postioning or poor clearances that a guy like Twellman can pounce on, so his talents aren't as obvious.
     
  11. Bryan Gividen

    Bryan Gividen New Member

    Mar 8, 2003
    Provo, UT (BYU)
    Shall I point out that he IS still young. He's early, early 20s (anyone got an exact age) and while he might not have the pace of DMB or Donovan or 20 yard drill of Mathis, I can surely say that the foundation has been laid to have the finishing skills of McBride. The kid is awesome. He's definitely my favorite MLS player to watch (so friggin creative). I'm hoping my blind faith in him turns out good and he ends up top with the US Nats.
     
  12. Stinkey Turner

    Dec 15, 2000
    Twellman=Poacher...not creative..sorry just my opinion that I am sure is not popular...he's had his chances with the Nats and dissapears for strethces. I did not see the goal this weekend, but previously outinngs with the USNT, he cannot create his own chances. Sure I hope to see him become the next McBride (actually better) but he has a ways to go or just needs to step up in the international game.
     
  13. Bryan Gividen

    Bryan Gividen New Member

    Mar 8, 2003
    Provo, UT (BYU)
    Twellman isn't creative?! Alright, how many caps does he have? If any player can show their creativity in their first 5 caps, their either (a) God or (b) Brazilian.

    Look at his goals last year. He's amazing. He has this amazing ability to get his head on the end of a ball (ala McBride). He's pulled nutmegs, he's swung in some nasty volleys. Go to MLSnet.com and go to the Goal Parade if you want to check out his assist. While it isn't as awesome as some people here are saying, it is definitely creative. The ball is coming to him and every defender is thinking, "Twellman getting a pass, need to block the shot." Twellman knows this, goes with the idea. He dummies the ball to his back foot and then flicks it on for a give and go to Jay Heaps. It was nice.

    The kid played in Germany and came back here so he could get some quality playing time.

    I really think at times Taylor Twellman is the most over rated and under rated player at the exact same time. People like me put him up too high some times and others act like he couldn't pull his weight with an A-League team.
     
  14. fluidsoccer

    fluidsoccer New Member

    Jun 4, 2003
    Chicago
    Or (c) Martino.
     
  15. mosler

    mosler Member

    Jan 2, 2003
    Mashpee, MA
  16. RevsRule

    RevsRule Member+

    NE Revs, LAFC
    Jun 9, 1999
    N. Eastern, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've always wondered exactly what a poacher is? Would people say that Donovan's goal was that of a poacher? or may Stuart's goal? Do you have to dribble through 3 people and score not to be a poacher?

    Bottom line is it doesn't matter how they're scored as long as they are scored. With service, he will score. Hopefully he'll get a chance to play with Reyna who I predict will ignite Twellman's scoring like a match ignites gas. Reyna is the one guy on the US team that can appreciate his runs and reward them by delivering the ball. Twellman is the real deal and needs to be paired with people that can deliver the ball.
     
  17. Deimos

    Deimos Member

    Apr 23, 1999
    Louisville, KY, USA
    Can someone give a specific example which shows that Twellman is a "poacher" and other specific example of strikers who are more positive or more negative depending on whether poaching is posditive or negative?
     
  18. voros

    voros Member

    Jun 7, 2002
    Parts Unknown
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    See, in my opinion Twellman is a poacher but I don't view that as a negative thing, just as a description of his style of play. Some of the most prolific goal scorers are poachers. James Beattie is a poacher (and his game resembles Twellman's in many ways and they even sort of look a little alike). Batistuta is/was a poacher. People could call Shearer a poacher. Ronaldo has the ability to poach or beat with speed which is why he's such a dangerous goal scoring threat. They know where the best place is to be if they want to score a goal, and are ruthless when the opportunity presents itself.

    The most common use of a poacher is when you have a forward who is not a spped guy like a Wolff or Donovan and isn't a big target guy like McBride. So they call him a poacher if he scores goals anyway.

    More accurately, a poacher relies on an ability to read the play, shake markers, get into good attacking positions, and make decisions and reads as to where the ball will be next. And then when the opportunity arises, he seizes it and fires it by the keeper. A team with creative midfielders and possibly a creative forward can work exceptionally well with such a player because they can be confident that if they try a creative or tricky pass or through ball, the poacher will be the first one to read it and therefore be the first to the ball.

    An example of a play where a poacher would be valuable. On a corner in the first half of USA/Paraguay Cory Gibbs got on the end of the corner at the far post and headed across the face of the goal where it was eventually cleared out. A true poacher would have followed the cross to Gibbs and maybe gotten ready for a ball off the post or a save from the keeper. He would have moved to the center of the box, when he saw Gibbs getting too deep to get one on goal, he would have looked to see what angle the ball was coming off his head and be ready to react, when he saw where Gibbs was heading it, he'd pounce and be waiting in the box for the ball and put it away.

    It's not just loose balls in the box, but it's a sense of where the ball is liable to wind up next and trying to be the first one there. It's also a sense of where the open spaces in the field are and getting to them, hoping that the midfielders will see these same spaces and the ball will be waiting for you there (the back post cross in the Revs last game that Twellman headed home. It wasn't as if he outjumped the guy or even outran him. He was simply the first one to know that's where the ball was going and so was the first one there).

    Needless to say such a player can struggle some playing with an entirely new set of players because his whole game is based on an awareness of the tendencies of his distributors. For a guy like Wolff, when all else fails, whack it up the field and let him run it down. For a guy like McBride just whack it high in the air and have him go get it. Guys like Twellman need service, but the upside is that when they get it, since they're always running into open spaces and good attacking positions, any time they latch onto the end of one, it's a good scoring chance.

    This is what Wynalda's talking about. We've seen Donovan's creativity in action, but often it's Convey or Stewart or Kirovski being on the receiving end and they aren't finishers. If a guy like Donovan or even Beasley could get in sync with a top class poacher, you might not be looking just at goals, but against all but the top opposition, you might be looking at goals by the bucketfull. It remains to be seen whether Twellman's that level of poacher, but the goal scoring record in MLS is awfully impressive.
     

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