Playing players in their best positions is the key. Kirovski is not a target forward. He has never played well in this position. Agoos was never a good left back because he lacked the pace needed on the outside. However, when Bruce moved him to center left back he was great. In fact he was the best defender during qualifying for the 2002 cup. (obviously he slowed down during the cup). Kirovksi reminds me of Reyna. Plenty of talent, great first touch, lots of nice plays, but little results to show for his work. I like Reyna as a player because of his skill. I was very happy (jumping up and down happy) when Arena played him as the right mid against Mexico in 2002 WC. Granted it was a 3-5-2 formation, but I have always thought Reyna would be great player wide right in a 4-4-2 because of his crossing ability. Playing wide gives him less options and forces him to be more aggressive. Bora also was looking at Reyna as a right mid prior to the 94 cup. Kirovski has something to add as well. Like Reyna and Agoos he just needs to play a position where he can succeed. That position in my mind is ACM in a 3-5-2.
Well, it's clear Arena hasn't completely written JK off, since he's called him into this camp, but.....
Jovan played a lot of games at attacking mid at the start of the Bruce era. It was around the time in 2001 when Mathis, Wolff, and McBride went out due to injury that Jovan started playing as a forward. The last time I remember seeing Kiro in the midfield for the US was in the Korea friendly in December 2001. I think Jovan is a victim of two things here, 1) The midfielders in front of him were deemed two strong but 2) Bruce wanted to give him a chance to be in the WC squad so he tried him at forward (where their were a lot of injuries) in the year leading up to Korea/Japan.
Yes hes a victim of his own crappiness, but we all know hes better as an attacking midfielder than at forward. With that said, I still think we've got lots of midfielders better than Jovan.
Re: Kirovski.?? Are you on medication??? JOKI have been critiziced for his lack of presence on the field, just below average performance, remind me just one game where JOKI have done something to change a game?? I find it totally unfair to Taylor Twelman and his family that after years of caring on Taylor's career and stuning performance two years on a row he still can receibe a fair chance.....
Re: Re: Kirovski.?? Are you on medication??? I think we both know that if not for the Revs having a game this weekend Taylor would have been called in. I'm sure we'll see him for the New Zealand game and probably on the roster for the Confederations Cup.
Re: Re: Re: Kirovski.?? Are you on medication??? Ha! also, what's this in another post about it being unfair to Taylor's family? Yeah, I'm sure Bruce is sitting around making his roster and is just torn up trying to decide who he should make happy: Taylor's Aunt Beatrice or josh wolffe's uncle maury.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Kirovski.?? Are you on medication??? If Taylor keeps his current form, you don't think he'll be on the Confederations Cup roster? You think Bruce is already that biased against him? Bruce has been known to hand an olive branch to a lot of guys, and with Taylor's recent form, he should receive the whole crop.
I'm just not sold on Twellman. my opinion happens to vary from yours. You look at Twellman and see an international player. I look at Twellman and see Jason Kries. both good mls players. nothing wrong with that. but he won't be on the confed cup roster. Landon, Cletus are locks, as is McBride. Wolff maybe? plus we know that Bruce likes giving Jovan chances.
And Bruce gave plenty of chances to Jason Kreis as well. I'd like to see him against New Zealand before we write him off for good. Hes scored as many goals this season as Chris Albright scored in his career and Albright sure didn't have trouble getting called up game after game. Maybe he won't make the Confed Cup roster, but give him a chance against New Zealand and maybe Paraguay before we write him off for good.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Kirovski.?? Are you on medication??? Well who used to take Taylor to his soccer practice and games ?? How are we expecting american parents to embrace the game if after so much work, the NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM hire mediocre foreing players with a green card and homegrown talent is ignore....There are many things involved here but you need to be a full time soccer fan to noticed
Nothing to be sale but reality There are no grown to compare Taylor and Jason, Taylor is more opportunistic, more predatory on a weak defense and somebody who know what to do with the ball once in front of the goal definitively a better player than JOVAN KIROVSKY AND HIS SLOW SS
When I see Twellman lineup with McBride for a couple of games I will be content if he can't get it done. However, until he plays next to a quality Target player it is unfair to judge him. Kreis is a great MLS player that lacked in athleticism needed to play at the international level. Twellman is a much better athlete when compared to Kreis. However, Twellman's downfall could be his first touch. I expect that it will get better over the next few years if given time to develop. Twellman is also a tough player with plenty of muscle on his bones. I expect that he will stay injury free. He also has great flexibility. My mom saw him doing splits before the start of a revolution game. This is part of the reason that he can get to so many balls in the box. This thread was suppose to be about putting guys in the right position to succeed. Kirovski's has one of the best first touches in the National team pool. Maybe he should be given a chance at right midfield. He has more to offer that Klein and is much younger than Stewart.
Dear Bruce, Please put Twellman in the next five Nat games. He will score goals. That's what he is, a pure goalscorer -- a poor man's Van Nistelrooy. Who needs assists anyway? In fact, if you put Taylor in front of Kirovski (if you NEED to put him in), something might happen. Give it a shot. Thank you for your consideration.
Dear Bruce...... Dear Bruce please be fair and give the same chances you have give to your favorite good for nothing Jovan....I will promise you that Taylor know what to do with the ball right after he get in front of the goal....SCOOOOOOORE!!!!!
Dear Bruce, I want to thank you for leading us into the WCup round of 8, the fifa world top 10 and taking us on this journey towards the promise land. Many of us supporters are getting very worried at seeing, the ghost, Jovan Kirovski repeatedly back in the National Team Camp. Please don't be seduced by his silky touches and his false playmaker auora. It is a false seduction, it is a smoke and mirror trick played on the training ground. He will not be a presence in your game, offensively he will not dominate opposing defenses, he will not be a supreme contributor defensively. He is a ghost of his former promise. Please let him go back and play in the reserve team leagues in England where he can collect a big fat paycheck. Thanks and good luck this year. p.s. When you see him at training today remember don't be seduced by his silky training skills!
Twellman needed a Euro youth system. If he were there, he would be a far better player. That is not to discredit his ability now, but if he had been in the ranks of a leading system abroad, he probably would have been fine in Germany or wherever he wanted to go. He's good now, but could have been better, gotten better instincts. Having said that, Kirovski is a decent player, but everything short of breathtaking. His versatility is what keeps Arena intrigued. He can go in and out of a few different positions. Problem is he's like the old adage - jack of all trades, master of none. Not an out and out striker, not an out and out creative force, not an out and out middie. On his side is experience and he can do some neat things - and he still has a career in front of him. He reminds me of a US football version of Philly's Derrick Coleman... but with the career. Reyna is still the best US midfielder. Holds the ball well, can switch positions, do all sorts of intangible things in the field that changes the flow of a game - that may not even be seen in the statsheet. Respect does wonders. You need him healthy for success for 2006. Saying he won't play is a stretch - he may see limited action this summer after all.
Whether a player is good, or even great, does not necessarily show up on a stat sheet. This is what the Reyna-bashers learned from Korea that they didn't learn in qualifying. For instance, a great distributor like Reyna might be hard to appreciate until he has guys like Donovan, Mathis, O'Brien and DMB to distribute to. But that's ok, we all live and learn. Apparently, a new generation has appeared and is need of learnin'. Ah, BigSoccer: the Next Generation.
Taylor Twelman need what???? Be real comrade!! Last year Taylor Twelman STALK the so call PESCADITO RUIZ the whole season, just with 22 years of age, and the PESCADITO suposed to be the top jewel of the MLS (dripping sarcasm). Here is where reality star and BULL$HIT END!! We have an american born soccer player early in his career showing to everybody that there is indigenous talent to deal with....
He was offsides, had his eyes closed, and blasted the ball which deflected oddly off the keeper and into the back of the net.
Kirovski As I thought. Kirovski scored in his last game for the US. And in his previous game before that one he had an assist to Mathis in the friendly against Germany. Yep, he sure has been playing like crap in his recent US games.