Of course, there is Donovan, McBride, Mathis, Twellman, Buddle, etc., and we start against the minnows in January, but given his rookie year showing, shouldn't Noonan be invited to camp?
I think braun is a few weeks too early on this. If Noonan were to continue his recent play through the playoffs, I think the question would be a legitimate one.
Bruce called Mark Lisi into camp in January 2002 after a much less productive rookie year than what Noonan's had. Granted Lisi has much, much more potential than Noonan, but it's not entirely unprecedented for Bruce to take a look at a promising rookie. That said, I suspect if Bruce does look at him on the int'l level, it will be as a right midfielder.
Because hes a Metros fan and he probably is reacting in horror at the destruction that Noonan has done to them. Well that and Lisi is a Metro. Ive been impressed with Noonan all year, although Im not really where he fits on the field. There are less deserving people that have been called into camp.
Noonie actually does things most American players can't do. He's got vision, a magic touch, a sweet pass, and solid shooting technique. If it wasn't for his disturbingly average appearance, he might stick out more. I'll be a fan of his as long as he keeps playing like he has this season. Sort of an American Teddy Sheringham. Even though I hated Teddy.
Too bad Noonan wasted time in college. He still might make it internationally, but time lost is time lost. He has been very impressive against Metros, but let's see what he can do against other teams. Lisi has potential but right now he is hampered by an ankle awaiting an operation. His absence is the number one reason the Metros have stopped scoring. Both have a chance at the nats.
I haven't seen that much of him, but I don't think he's quite ready yet. Revs fans, is he someone we could think of as a future candidate as a target man after McHead (bless his soul) has retired from Int'l play? How is he in the air? Obviously, getting ahead of myself, but just curious to know if anyone thinks he can play that type of game...
no, he does not play as a target man at all. He wants the ball to his feet. I was VERY skeptical of him when the Revs drafted him-looked like another typical college boy.I was TOTALLY wrong.First, he is very skillful,even by Nat standards.His touch is excellent. Secondly, someone above mentioned he has a rare skill for a USA player: he shoots very well.Hard and on target alost all the time. Lastly, he is very savvy- the guy just has a soccer brain. By the way, his strike rate per minute is almost identical to Damani Ralph's. Instead of scoring by going 1-1, he is a combination guy. Quick 1-2's, quick flicks.In that sense he might fit even better with the USA team than Ralph, who I think is very good, but his style would fit less well with the USMNT. I am not sure of Noonan is ready but I was totally wrong about him- he has a ton of talent.
too soon to say Noonan appears to have some good upside, but I have not seen enough to make me think that he is already National Team material. As someone else mentioned, there are quite a few guys ahead of him as a forward (Donovan, McBride, Buddle, Twellman, Razov...) and I don't think he has the pace to play as a right midfielder. I could be wrong about that, but he never struck me as being very fast. He makes me think of Chris Klein in that position - and I don't think Chris has a very promising future with the Nats. The kid is still young, and if he keeps getting better then I'd love to say that I was wrong about him.
Noonan should get his shot sometime next year, if not during the offseason, then perhaps in the summer when the Olympics and qualifying conflict.
Noonan bagged another tonight.9 goals in last 9 games- who has done that except Clint when he could play? His best play was a 40 yard attempt to beat Walker with a lob- off the bar.As noted above, the boy has an excellent shot- almost always on target.
Donovan did it earlier in the year. I'd bet Twellman and/or Ruiz has done it at some point the last two years as well. Noonan's best chance for the Nats right now probably is on the right flank where he played earlier when Twellman was healthy and Ralston was gone. We still haven't taken much of a look at Twellman or Buddle, so Noonan may have to wait his turn at striker.
i agree he should wait his turn, but if ching can get a cap i don't see why noonan shouldn't - it's not like we are overrun with productive scorers and i smell a large friendly slate coming up seeing as how we don't start WCQ 'til june
I am not arguing that Noonan is clearly USMNT material but that he is worth a look. AS for the speed/size thing- that is a fairly umimaginative way to look at it. Mathis( when he could play) was nieither particularly fast, nor a target player.In an earlier generation, Roy Wegerle was neither particularly fast nor a target player- he was 2nd in the Premiership( or top division if that was before the Prem) in scoring. Loads of examples of guys who score through being skillful, clever, good timing, good shots. Of all the recent USA players, I would compare Noonan most to Mathis in that he has a very, very good shot, and is very quick on the turn. Last night he got one good chance and buried it instantly.He also made an incredibly creative play by lobbing Walker unexpectedly from 40 and almost pulled it off-beat Walker but hit the cross-bar.
Well Ching's cap is a lot like Eskandarian's. Bruce had to pick a side from San Jose and DCU plus Lewis and Kirovski. Here's what I think about Noonan: Pros: Excellent ball control, near the very best in the league in that area. Very good shot. Decent field vision Cons: Not the fastest player ever. Could be better moving off the ball. Untested against a faster paced game. He's certainly in the picture, but that's all for the moment. Versatility on the right wing might get him his first look. He's also roughly the same age as Twellman and Buddle, so despite being a rookie, isn't particularly young for one.
I think that is a fair assessment, but I think every Rev fan, probably MLS fan is VERY surprised at how good he is.I guess in college it just was not the environment to show his skill.
Re: Re: Noonan for USMNT striker I think that's one of Noonan's strenghts. He doesn't look that fast but even when he was at IU when he would take people on, he has this burst of speed that caught a lot of people by surprise. Once he was by you all he would need to do is step in your line and sheild you off the ball with his strenght. He also has this tendency to just show up in the right place. You'll lose track of him for a second and then you realize that he's collecting the ball out of the back of net. Noonan had an exceptional college career. If I'm not mistaken herman trophy finalist and MAC player of the year runner up. I'm sure you can find more honors and things. I guess all I'm saying is if you haven't had a chance to really watch Noonan play don't write him off yet. IMHO throw him in and see if he can swim with the USMNT.
Re: Re: Re: Noonan for USMNT striker we have so many great college players who can not even survive in pro soccer that we all tend to take this with a grain of salt. But clearly some great college players are great pros too, so it happens.As I said, Noonan has surprised me.