i am aware that ching's cap came under weird circumstances, but my point stands - he hasn't surprised me at all really, i posted after the draft that the revs got a steal oh and voros, good analysis but you forgot to mention noonan's outstanding body positioning in shielding the ball - he's not the biggest guy ever but he gets early position and holds off defenders well
Pat Noonan has looked very good recently and has definitely gotten the attention of Bruce Arena.. One small problem though.. Performing well in MLS and doing the same at the international level are two completely different ballgames.. Most Revs fans should take the Taylor Twellman example as exhibit A in not rushing to judgement on whether or not a player is USMNT quality.. I have no doubt that Noonan is capable of being a very good international player.. The question now is can he translate that success to a stage which is infinitely quicker and more fast paced than MLS.. My guess would be no at the moment.. This isn't to say that he probably won't get a chance, but in all honesty I'd rather see Twellman succeed first before Noonan and Taylor has been average at best in his few opportunities..
this is an interesting discussion, free of hyperbole.I see Twellman and Noonan a lot. Twellman is very physical, a real animal, but he is not that skillful. Noonan is much more refined, more skillful and he actually shoots better than Twellman.I am not sure who will go farther, but it won't surprise me if Noonan does well at the international level because his skillfulness will allow him to fit in in a fast paced game. Also, the USA, esp with Donovan and Beas uses quick combinations, so the ability to pass quickly and accurately counts. I think the closest player to Noonan, in terms of style, is Mathis. Clint is a litle more physical, Noonan a little more skillful and better work rate, but their shooting at a moments notice is similar- at least the Clint of a few years ago.
By the way, as for final statistics, while everyone was impressed with Damani Ralph( me too!), Noonan had a beter final scoring rate. Ralph had 28 points in 1985 minutes, 22 starts. Noonan had 27 points in 17 starts and 1646 minutes. I think this puts a little perspective on the whole thing.
The success of Twellman and Noonan in MLS has something to do with the Revs midfield, which is one of the best. Especially Ralston. I would rate them Ralston 1st, Noonan 2nd, Twellman 3rd in terms of nat potential.
I will not diagree but actually Adin Brown is the best Rev player. He is a monster. He is the quickest guy I have ever see at that size. But for the fact that the USA is a goalkeeping factory, I would have him starting for the US.
Bruce Arena Identifies Upcoming Prospects All that said, Arena couldn't help but be impressed by what happened Sunday night. And the fact is, he has been able to identify some new national team prospects: "I would say [New England's] Pat Noonan, from what I've seen the last month or two. Brian Mullan is an interesting player. And the kid Jamil Walker had a fantastic game last night. He's a walking advertisement for the league. We're often critical of the league, but you look at this kid who came in at the beginning of the year and was really raw, inexperienced and not ready to play, and he got a goal last night and was dangerous. It's pretty noticeable that he's made considerable improvements throughout the year."
From the article: As Arena says, "For my job it's one of the few games where I'm really able to evaluate players in high-pressure conditions. And players show in those types of settings. There's not enough games like that in the league. This is something I hadn't though of before, but I'm glad Bruce has. After Mulrooney's performance, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a good deal of him in WC qualifying. And yes, Mullan and Noonan will get some looks as well.
If he can play right-side mid at the next level I think he's got a great chance to not only make the team, but start. If we can plug someone not already in the pool into that slot it frees up other guys to play their natural position. How about... ----Buddle Donovan Beasley Martino Noonan ---------JOB Reyna ------Boca Pope Who? ---------Howard Whoa, I really like the look of that.
I think Noonan has great skill and tremendous judgement on the field. A deceptive and an excellent striker. The Revs are very lucky to have a player in Noonan's calibur and if not for Joe-Max Moore & Taylor Twellman going down with injuries then the Revs wouldn't even play him that much. I agree that he is absolutly fabulos, but, I'm going to hold off on Noonan if he is ready for the National Team. Let's see What the Revs do after the playoffs and where he will fit. When Bruce thinks he is ready then Noonan will get his chance to show what he's got. Do I think he can step in right now and possible be one of the many to be called upon for Qualifying? It's possible, but I would rather see Pat Noonan during a few friendly matches next year before Qualifying starts
I agree.He looks promising, but we need to see more to draw any conclusions.I worry a bit about his pace at the international level, but he is unusually clever and very skillful- almost the opposite of the classical USA player who is all huff and puff.
I can't wait for Bruce to get some of these guys in a camp and see how it goes. One thing he is good at is evaluating players in a camp situation and then using them in games when they have reached the right level. If they don't cut it in camp, they go home before the games.