Well, the Twellman bashers are out if force again. I'm reading it all over the place on how he had a poor game ..and so on and so on.... I saw him get one good pass early on that he put on goal and two or three others had a good wack at net off the same play. Then I saw almost no service for most of the rest of the game. I did see Kirovski running around like a mad man, disrupting any flow that got going and virtually playing for himself. I saw Twellman getting hammered most times he got the ball and the Canadian ref letting almost everything go. Part of his "bad game I guess" I saw him running off the ball, working to get open only to have fools like Kirovski shoot it over the top. Before I pass judgement on Twellman, I want to see him play with the "A" team. If he's getting the ball and blowing it then I'll say he doesn't belong but right now he's being paired with people he doesn't blend well with. He needs people that will reward his runs by delivering the ball. Kirovski's a selfish player and isn't about to set up the guy that might take his spot. I want to see him paired with Donovan and hopefully Reyna soon.
I watched Twellman and there were times when he made good runs but the ball was not delivered to him. In the second half in particular I recall one instance where Twellman was goal side and ball side of his marker at the near post and instead of delivering a ball on the ground into space in front of Twellman the player (was it Kirovski?) lofted a floating cross to the far post that didn't result in anything. With some more intelligent midfield players (e.g., Convey or Mathis or Reyna) delivering through balls, I think Twellman has the killer instinct and can score for the national team. Kirovksi was trying to make a mark yesterday and he did well to hold the ball, etc. But he didn't distribute to his fellow forward very well. It will be interesting to see how Taylor does in the games that actually count in France.
I just got to BS this morning, so I haven't read the Twellman bashers yet, but I don't think he had a bad game. I thought he continually showed for the ball which was played to his feet, which he then distributed well. I don't remember too many of his passes being intercepted. I aslo remember a world-class flick-on he had to set up I think it was Convey, which should have led to a goal. I think that 5/10 refs would have given him the call for a penalty instead of yellow carding him. I would have liked to have seen him put that first chance away, but hopefully he'll have more chances. I agree with you, I can't wait to see him with the full "A" side, with Donovan, Beasley, Convey, Reyna. I think he will be a wonderful pair with McBride in a 3-5-2 as a sub for Mathis.
I don't want to be numbered in the "Twellman Bashers", but I have to say that I'm still not convinced that Twlellman is The Striker. To me, a striker is someone who is dangerous WITHIN the box, with ball at his feet. I believe he showed excellent hustle, and distributed the ball well. I do believe he has a place as an attacking midfielder. But you're right - with the Ateam out there providing better passes and build up, he may be a totally different player. Still, a First Team Striker should be dangerous as soon as he gets the ball in the box, and Twellman did not show any predatorial ability in this sense, to me. Kirovkski's spastic hustle was fun to watch, disrupted the NZ defense from time to time, but did not build on anything that the US were trying to produce. Give him the old heave ho, or use him as a second half sub when the other side are tired.
If Twellman ever puts the ball into the net for the Nats, then the bashing will stop. Simple as that. If he comes back from France with no goals, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't appear again until pretty far into the qualifying process.
Twellman Bashing Hey, if all of you all recall, when Waldo was still playing, McBride was the backup. We (including myself) was bashing him and saying that he should be dropped. Anyone saying this now? Anyone saying that Reyna sucks? (OK maybe that will open a new can of worms) Let Twellman play on the international level. This is Twellmans 2nd year playing 1st division professionally. He is on the national team of a country that is PLAYING in the Confederations Cup. Lets get realistic people. He is still a rookie when it comes to international soccer. It seems that expectations for him to score just like he does for his club team are a bit off. Ukraine does not get the same production from Shevchenko as he gives his club team. And TT is no Shevchenko. This expectation is unrealsitic and TT bashing is BS or just like of BS.
Re: Twellman Bashing Right, let's not bash the lad. Let's give him his due share to prove his merit. Include him on the roster but don't - please - start him. Not yet.
Time will tell... Twellman's performance against NZ, while certainly not stellar, was fairly good IMO. He moved around quite a bit, snuck into space, but most of the time the service was lacking. He's an exciting player to watch and I don't know about the rest of you but in some ways he reminds me of a Mathis. For 10-15 minutes you may forget that he is in the match but then they break out or make a run that splits the defence or draws a double or triple team and you remember that there are more ways to contribute than by scoring goals alone. Agree that he needs more chances, with the A-team, and my hope is that the Confederations Cup will see him prove his mettle on the international scene by scoring a few but if not, at least contributing in a positive way. He's a tough kid with a scorers mentality.
I think Twellmans a good player, I just fear he may end up with the "Kreis syndrome". Both of these players are pure finishers. Pure finishers need one key thing to let them excell: service. Not just one or two balls a game though. They need every single player on the field looking to get them the ball every single time. Thats not going to happen on a national team unless you are one of the best in the world. From what I've seen (someone please politely correct me if they think I'm wrong) Twellman doesnt have the ball skills of a Mathis, LD, etc. Therefore he needs service to score his goals. Like on poster said, when he's out there with those guys on the first team it may change. But when he's waiting for Kirovski to pass him the ball, hes basically screwed.
Guys. Relax. Twellman is the real deal. It isn't just dumb luck that he won the scoring title last year and tied for the lead this year in MLS. He can play. He will end up replacing McBride one day as the Nats "target man". Just give him some time....
Absolutely no way!!! He was definately bumped, and probably should have not gotten the call, but there is no way on God's green earth he should have gone in the book for that! That ref was an absolute biotch, and seemed to have an agenda from the beginning. FIFA really needs to examine his quality before putting him into a match of importance.
I'm not totally convinced of Twellman. However, his play that led to the first goal is something coaches love to see. He kept alive what appeared to be a hopeless play and we ended up scoring. That was the type of difference making he needs to do to get a solid spot on the team. He played hard and worked for position in the box well. If he had finished the ball Klein set him up for in the first half, we would all be talking about what a great game he had. Still, he does need to finish when he gets the chances. The shot was from a pretty tight angle, but he was very open and close to goal. He showed some good things yesterday, and will have more chances to get things going. He just needs to put something in the net soon, or his chances will start to dry up.
He'll be fine When I saw the lineup, I was disappointed right off the bat for Twellman. With Kirovski the black hole, he wasn't going to get a fair shake. I thought he played pretty well, though I do think he dove. That disgusted me. He's normally not a cheap diver like Ruiz; he doesn't have to be. It was just a shoulder charge. Twellman is better than that. He could have had a decent shot on goal. That said, he worked hard and put his chance on goal. I would also like to see him out there with some help--I think he's got a good chance of sticking with national team for a long time.
Lassiter was a beast in MLS and he flat out couldn't play internationally, so I'm not sure if this is valid, IMHO. Same for Kreis. I think TT does deserve a look w/ the real team to see if improved service leads to results, but his window is closing fast. Also, some of his challenges were flat out reckless. It's nice to see the hustle, but if he slides in like that on the road in CONCACAF the ref will card him in a second. He needs to tone it down, though I thought he didn't deseved a card for diving.
Yeah, right. It was a fair shoulder charge and Twellman went Argentinian and threw his legs back even though the guy was nowhere near his legs. It was such a wussie dive FIFA should create a pink card for it.
Conspiracy Theory: Did you notice that Kirovski NEVER delivered a decent pass to Twellman in 90 minutes of soccer? Meanwhile, he had no problem hitting Klein with a couple of excellent passes . Could it be that Kirovski realizes that if Twellman scores goals and makes the team, there is less room for Kirovski in the NATs? Hmmm....
I'd say the play was neither worthy of a card nor a PK. I would like to see him play better for the National Team. He looked so damn dejected when he was taken out near the end of the game. I just think there are too many other good young forwards for him to ever be the number one starter... but he could turn into a decent second team guy. He's not there yet, but hopefully he'll continue to play well in MLS and get a goal for the Nats. I think once he gets his first he'll play a lot better for them. He seems like he's really pressing. And the flick on was great! Convey and Kirovski both blew some open chances. I really wish we didn't have to watch Kirovski... I don't like his game at all, but he seems to get too many garbage goals or goals like yesterday's and Arena keeps him on the radar. I'd rather see someone like Edson Buddle get a chance. I agree with BenC, Twellman does need service to score. It is however okay to have one forward like that on a team if you have guys like Lewis, Donovan, Beasley, Reyna, and JOB who can get you the ball.
Oh yeah, I agree that we always need one guy out there thats the "target man". But yesterday we had a target and, as pasoccerfan said, a black hole. I wouldnt go so far as to claim a conspiracy theory, but I would say that Jovan is a terrible passer and doesnt see the field well. The jury is still out on Twellman for the Nats, until he plays with Mathis, Donovan and Beasley. If he cant create and finish chances with those three getting him the ball then he's got problems to worry about.
Twellman is guy that should be kept around and used as a sub. Donovan, Kirovski, and McBride are ahead of him. The biggest problem with Twellman is his skill level. Donovan, Kirovski, Reyna, etc receive a ball and usually deliver a better pass than what was given to them. Twellman can complete passes, but the receiver has to work hard to keep possession. Reyna makes players around him better, Twellman just doesn't have this area of the game. I do think he can be helpful if injurries occur and probably will occur.
i can't tell if this is a joke or if you're one of the twellman lovers on this thread that watched the game with their hands over their eyes. kirvo is a better player than twellman...he plays at a higher lever in a better league . that said i do think twellman is better than mcbride was at this age...so there may be a possibility someday he'll grow to be a better forward than mcbride is now. the problem for twellman is...buddle, casey, quaranta, and that kid from the metro stars are also better than mcbride was at this age...and they are all younger than twellman....so simply being better than mcbride may not be good enough anymore.
This is just right. Twellman's a good player who's in danger of becoming the next Jason Kries. I was in Richmond yesterday and watched Twellman closely. He positions himself reasonably well and has a fairly good first touch, but he can't get himself free enough (either with the ball at his feet or for service) to be effective. The look on his face as he was subbed out says it all: incredible frustration. He knows this is his chance and he wants desparately to succeed. You sense that the longer he goes without scoring, the more the pressure to score will impinge on his ability to score. Eventually he could succumb to it. I still think that Twellman has a future with the US, and that his first goal, if it comes before too long, will be the trigger. I certainly hope so for him. perc
I totally agree about the look on his face. It was priceless. I felt kinda sad for him. He is totally pressing. He knows how many other young guys are trying to get into the National team pool as well.
I'm not strongly pro Twellman, or anti-Twellman, but I trust Bruce to make the right decision. What disappoints me most about him is his failure to shake his defender. Kirovski got about 10 touches to every one that Twellman got. As a striker, Taylor needs to get OPEN. Jovan saw more of the ball because he was always in the right place at the right time. The only times Taylor touched the ball, he had a defender draped all over him. He got no seperation. People that complain that Jovan passed the ball better to Klein then Twellman failed to mention that Klein was OPEN and Twellman was MARKED. If he can get marked out of a game against New Zealand, what will happen against the Germanys and Brazils?
Kirovski often check back to midfield for the ball to create some offense, much like Donovan and Mathis often do. It was probably a good thing that he did this, as Stewart wasn't getting it done. Someone pointed out that Jovan, when he wasn't coughing up the ball with bad touches, then typically layed it a short pass to Klein, Lewis, Cherundolo, or Armas, but virtually no passes forward to Twellman. Plus, when he does this, he leaves Taylor stranded up there alone against the 2 Kiwi central defenders the entire game. And Ryan Nelsen is good enough to play in any league in the world, so all you 'it was just New Zealand" types need to keep that in mind.