Noonan with 8 goals in 5 games against the Mutts? thats nuts. Adin with 5 postseason shutouts in 8 games? thats nuts. Doing all of this without Twellman? thats nuts. i love what our Revs are doin, i absolutely love it.
I hate to tell you this but the Revs are a better team right now without Twellman. If Stevie can figure out how to incorporate TNT into the current system then I think we will be amazing. If not they will still be pretty damn good and maybe we can get rid of Twelly for a bunch of great draft picks
Taylor Twellman is a professional soccer player. And a damn good one, too. If Dario Fabbro can work into the lineup, Taylor Twellman can make some adjustments and fit in, too. I agree that the style he has played the last couple of seasons will conflict with the more methodical play of our current lineup, but before you go trading our leading goal scorer, give him a chance to acclimate to the new style of play.
It's true. The Revs are hard to defend because they don't have a focal point to concentrate on. They attack with 4 capable and dangerous midfielders who can interact with either forward. Slack off of Ralston, Kamler, Joseph or Cancela at your own risk - any can exploit some open space. And we've already seen what happens when Noonan is left an opening. It'll be a big challenge to Nicol and Twellman to reincorporate Twellman next year, without him becoming the focal point of the whole offense. Too often the Revs have tried to use Twellman as a holding forward, which he isn't that good at and tends to get him battered needlessly. Fabbro has shown much more ability at that role than anyone that I can remember ever playing for the Revs. I'm still trying to figure out what is allowing him to be so successful at holding the ball with back to goal - maybe part of it is that defenders don't consider him worth fouling, so they don't go "through" him. He does seem to position himself closer to the wing, whereas Twellman is usually right in the center and is blanketed by big central defenders. Or maybe it's because, without Twellman, the Revs seem to be sending long balls up the field much less often.
the problem with Twellman is that he's so damn good that there can't be another poaching-type forward on the team to coincide him as a striker partner. Twellman needs a partner who will give him the ball and someone who if he's in trouble, he can give it back and they will score. Pretty much, for a great forward duo, you need a great poacher and a great holding forward. Guess what, we got two! Joe-Max and Pat Noonan can easily compliment Twellman as the second forward. Of course they wont be scoring as many goals as Taylor would but they will still contribute. Having Noonan makes it better because he has played with Taylor before, he knows Taylor's style. Thats why I'm prediciting that the Pat/Taylor duo will be the most scoring and lethalists duo in the league next year, and I'm not even thinking about Cancela and Ralston contributing. Thats the problem LA has now with Ruiz. They need to find him a forward to get him the ball in the space where he is open, and for someone to lay it off when things get too tight. Of course LA doesn't have that, explaining why Ruiz only had 7 run-of-play goals. The only thing I'm worried about is our left mid. Hey, I'm going to give all props to Kamler and what a season he has put out, but the fact is that he's at the end of his career. Nicol needs to shop for a great left mid to go along with the great right mid and great center midfield. I like the idea of 2 guys sending balls to Pat and Taylor next year, but 3 would sure make me feel alot better.
And in what sort of professional environment have they played in together? Backyard kiddie matches in St. Louis followed by a sleep-over at the Noonan residence doesnt really count.... But I agree with an earlier post that, while I'm not saying he should be completely cast away, Twellman maybe should be dangled out to other teams, just to see what kind of value we can get for him. It is becoming more and more clear that without him, we are a much for complete side, and a damned good one for that matter. I, for one, honestly do not miss him much at all right now. I dont think it would be such a bad idea to see what we could get for him. Afterall, we could possibly get some quality defenders in exchange for him.
and why not? They have a bond, they are comfortable playing with each other. They certainly showed that May 24th. And I'm most certain they can keep doing it. Who knows, maybe its just a St. Louis thing. I mean only the St. Louis players are scoring in number on the revs.
Twellman and Noonan First of all, forget trading Twellman. The guy has a fair first touch at best, is a below average dribbler, passer and tackler, is good in the air, but not overwhelming - in fact, he can't seem to do anything but score. How many players, leave alone American-born players, in the history of MLS, have been such a constant danger to the opposition? The team is not better off without Twellman. It just seems that way because of the stunning emergence of Noonan. I'll say it again: if the Revs are lucky enough to get by the Metros, the game in Chicago is not only for a chance to play in the final, it is also a chance to re-engrave the ROY trophy. If Revs win and Noonan scores, they can't say no. The real question, as stated above, is how do you integrate TnT into the current line-up? I wonder, for example, if the midfield wouldn't be better off playing the ball through Noonan as the first option. He is a better dribbler and passer than Twellman, and I believe is smart enough to choose shot vs. pass inside the 18. Where Twellman excels is popping up when it is most inconvenient for the opposition. If he is free to roam and find his spot while Noonan and the wings do the 1 v 1 work, they could be tough to stop. I never noticed that. I wonder if the soccer people in St. Louis have adopted the Revs as their team?
I'll completely disagree with this. Taylor would thrive with the kind of play we've had recently. The Revs are a better team because they've fully integrated Cancela into the lineup, Joseph's passing game has improved by leaps and bounds, and the defense has tightened up with Pierce getting back in there and Heaps playing with more disclipline. Look how well TnT did when he was getting good service from Ralston last year, and his scoring rate this year is tops in the league. He had a rough game or two coming back from injury, but they were starting to hook up pretty well by the Dallas game, when TnT got 2 goals before he was injured.
In another year the league will be looking at getting rid of twellman to a european side and then we'd be looking at getting a good Allocation. I would like to see what the other teams would give us for him. It may be the best thing for the team in the long run to get rid of him one way or the other. I love twellman, but I don't see him being with our team that much longer. Maybe two years tops. Should we enjoy him while he is here.... yes... and if Nicol can get him incorporated into his system, That wold make us one hell of a football side.
I'm going to St. Looey, Looey Goals by the St Looeeans in MLS games this year: 35 Goals by the rest of the team: 20 I don't know if folks in St. Louis have adopt the Revs, but I'm kind of thinking we should adopt them. I am curious about how well Twellman and Fabbro would do as a strike pairing. Now that Fabbro has had a chance to work himself into the team, he certainly seems to have a nack for getting the ball where it needs to be. The more I think about Noonan's goal on Saturday, the more I think that there are only a handful of guys who could have gotten the ball to Noonan, and most of them are midfielders who wouldn't have been where Fabbro was. It's kind of reminding me what Galderisi did in his 2nd tour with the Revs. He didn't score much (at all?), but he had the calm and the skill required to make good passes inside the 18 yard box.
Re: I'm going to St. Looey, Looey Not that I'm advocating it, but you could probably have any MLS defender you want (except maybe Bocanegra)! It's no accident that Noonan is thriving with Fabbro as his partner. When he plays with Twellman, HE's been the setup man.
Fabbro is one WIDE load. His hips are monstrous, and that's hard to get around. And if you do, he just burns you with a deft distribution. Defenders are probably more concerned with where he's sending the ball; as opposed to whether they can get lucky and tackle it away. And isn't it great timing. Noonan has gone crazy against the Mutts, and Fabbro is always trying to look for the open man. Noonan obliges. For me, it's the epitomy of entertaining, excellent soccer. Midfielders and forwards running into open space and unselfish teammates always looking for them. For the time being, I'm entirely satisfied to forget about TnT. We'll cross that bridge...
no euro hopes "In another year the league will be looking at getting rid of twellman to a european side " I don't agree that twellman will go to europe. He has already been in europe and couldn't break the first squad. If he did go he would get hurt even more. If Twellman get's tossed around by defenders here, how is he gonna deal with a full on tackle by a world class defender. Just because he is successfull in the U.S means nothing on the world stage. This has been proved by mcbrides short stint at Everton. I would be more than happy to see what we could get for him despite where he goes.
..... Just because he is successfull in the U.S means nothing on the world stage. This has been proved by Mcbrides short stint at Everton...... TONES FC What did that prove? My recollection is that McBride tore things apart until he got hurt. In fact, he could have stayed but chose to come back. If twellman's value is based on the number of defenders he beats then he could fetch any defender in return since he beats all of them. I wouldn't be quite so quick to send TnT elsewhere, either here in MLS or across the pond. Yes, the team is playing a better overall style with others up front but who is to say that a table set by Cancela, Kamler, Joseph, Ralston and Noonan, plus Fabbro and a healthy Joe Max (only can play five, tho') wouldn't cause Taylor to score 30? I, for one, am willing to find out. JIM DOW
Re: Twellman and Noonan Someone in the know can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the MLS end of year awards are supposed to be based on the regular season alone. I would guess that the ballots are already out (and some already back?). Now I don't know what the deadline for votes is, so voters could be influenced by the playoffs.
voting has been done, at least for ROTY...that chucklehead Sean Wheelock was absolutely gushing over Chicago and esp. Damani Ralph the other day when he mentioned that he had named DR on his ballot for ROTY. Wheelock annoys me.
Wheelock is an idiot. He's just as bad for MLS then Jack Edwards. We need to weed out the morons and over-homeristic commentators and get some guys who can really commentate.
Amen! I'm also sick of hearing them drag out their "New York, New Jersey, Connecticut Metrostars" joke, without ever mentioning that Connecticut is in NEW ENGLAND, who (they seem to have forgotten) already has a team.
Re: Twellman and Noonan Sorry, but this is nice in dreams only!!! I can't be the only person that notices how this team plays when Taylor is in the line up!? The minute he is in, Ralston, in particular, stops looking for anyone else, and the rest of the mids stop floating to open space!! It seems like everyone thinks, "well there he is, so we HAVE to pass to him." The only reason we are seeing this attractive style of play is he isn't in the line up! I don't think trading him is the only solution. Nic needs to pound it into these guys heads that this play needs to continue even when he returns. The other thing that needs to happen is that the Infante Whiner (Twellman) needs to shut up when others get the ball, or take a shot!! After Cancela got here, he was distributing the ball to the open man (as we see happening now), but the whining from "our forward" was extremely visible every time someone else got the ball. This can be a very exciting team. We could still use a few pieces, but it is a competitive 11. They need to keep playing like 11, not some playing as individuals. Twellman can complement what is happening here. He is a quality finisher, but not good at much else! Let him play that role, but also let the others do what they are doing now!! Too often before it was defend like hell and then boot it to THE forward. That was why this team went through the winless spell. That style of play can NOT continue. I hope this team doesn't follow the rest of New England sports and react in the heat of the moment. I hope the Revs are the poster for putting the best on the field and watching them play together. Also, as stated in another post, I don't see Twellman being the threat abroad like he is here. He is a threat because he gets 80+% of the service and the D in this league are average at best. He would suffer the fate of too many other ill equipped Americans that went abroad. It takes a lot more than simply scoring goals in the MLS to be a star on the world stage.
Re: no euro hopes Wasn't the reason that TnT couldn't break the first squad was because he was too young; i.e. it didn't have as much to do with his skills? This whole idea of getting rid of TnT is typical armchair managing. The impact to this club of trading its most valuable commodity (at least from a fan base) would be a disaster. Additionally, while there may be some logic to think that our 'wide open, more beautiful' soccer may, in part, be due to Twellman's absence. However, to think that we can't do that with TnT is absurd. He has seen the success, the team has seen the success and the coach has demonstrated over and over that he can get the most out of people. What's the issue with keeping Twellman and adding his weapons to our arsenal...sorry Noonan and Fabbro, but TnT is better, period. My thoughts during this run though have strayed to the 'my aren't we rich at forward' - TnT, JMM, Noonan, Brown, Fabbro and Bagley. Then additionally, we should use those riches to get an strong defender. However, that is a post-season discussion rather than 'during the post season' discussion. My view is that the best news is that Fabbro, Brown and Bagley have increased their value in the marketplace well above the value of what we gave up. Hence, we are better off now than we were five weeks ago. What we do with that increase in value is what will be very interesting.
Full agreement here. Don't forget that the current winning streak started with the last 2 games that Twellman played in. In total, Twellman & Cancela played together for 575 minutes or just over 6 games worth over 8 games. In those 8 games, the Revs scored at a slightly lower rate 1.5/g instead of 1.8 and allowed them at the same rate as over (1.5/g). I think the Revs have gotten some push from Twellman's absence in the same way that the Patriots did when Bledsoe got hurt 2 years ago. Everyone else tends to step it up when you lose your biggest star, but at the same time, the strategy and tactics tend to get less ambitious. I think the other big factor is that it took a while for Cancela to blend in with this team, and that was just starting to happen when Twellman got hurt. That made it a whole lot easier for Noonan and Fabbro to pick up the slack when Taylor went down.