Jeff Dieffenbach's column compares the two target men. http://www.soccer365.com/_365_Features/page_121_46722.shtml Note the time frame between McBride's first cap and first goal for MNT. This helped to assuage my fear that Twellman must deliver immediately in order to stay in the player pool.
that is a very well put article. how ironic on how they do it on my favorite two players? he forgot to mention that they each like to wear #20 as for twellmans first Nat goal, i would hope that it comes before 3 years are up. thats too long nowadays to go without a goal and still be on the National team. [only for forwards though]
I agree it would have to be quicker than 3 years. But with all his success last season, Twellman's modest showing so far for the Nats is a bit dissapointing. With all the speculation and excitment surrounding the even younger guns, along with McBride's immediate impact for Everton, one starts to feel that if you're not an immediate success on game day you'll be passed over. But I guess we can all name a few players who we thought (or hoped) we'd never see again playing for the Nats, based on what we fans see on the field, but who keep getting called back regardless. In the end Arena has convinced me that he can correctly discern what each player has to offer at the international level. So if Twellman really has the skills to make an impact I'm confident that we'll see him continue to get his chances.
1993 and 2003 US soccer realities are like night and day. Now we have MLS developing younger and much more skilled players. Players can get their foot in the US National Team Pool a lot faster because the coaches can evaluate them better but, I assume players who don't deliver in a shorter time window will also see their backsides hit by the backdoor a whole lot faster. I think Twellman and McBride styles of play are very different. Conner Casey's style of play in my opinion, should be the one Arena should look for if he's looking to replace McBride. It should also be interesting to see how Quaranta and Johnson develop in the next two years. We need a forward who can hold the ball and create (assisting - not necessarily making the final passes) goals, not a player waiting for good service from the midfield.
With all due respect to Taylor Twellman and Revs fans everywhere, I think this comparison is ridiculous.. The only thing they have in common is that they both are white and American soccer players.. Twellman is not nearly 5'11".. 5'9" at best.. Twellman though, to his credit, is quite adept in the air but is not and will never be a target player the same way McBride is.. Twellman also is a much better scorer than McBride is.. McBride is more of an all around better player at this point (as he should be with his years of experience) and he sets his teamates up very well.. The only part of their game that is similar is that both do well in the heading department for scoring goals.. That is about as far as the comparison should go...
Agreed....Twellman and McBride are no where near the same player....McBride is a target forward....he holds the ball and lays it off and can finish whenb needed to....He is never going to burn you with speed....but is desperatley needed for the sucesss of the NATS (or a player similar to him)... it was quite evident in the Argentina game when we won absolutley no headers up front... Twellman is a scorer but has yet to break through on the international game...He can go one of two ways in my opinion... 1. He will turn out to be a Roy Lassiter...lots of potential...good in MLS...couldn't get it done on the international level... 2. Go where everyone hopes he can and become a dominant goalscorer for the US... The jury is still out for me...he hasn't impressed me at all yet...but we shall see... -PB20
Can't let this one go by: 1) He will never be Roy Lassiter. For one thing, he understands the offsides rule. For another he can score With the number of chances he's had, NOBODY would be scoring. Donovan hasn't done it, and fatboy just gets in the way. I'm still a believer and I can't believe the pressure people are putting on him. Some are calling him the next Jason Kreis (sp?) others continue to make excuses for Mathis while proclaiming him a bust. He's been a scorer everywhere he's played and will be a scorer at the Nat level when he gets to play withj people that can deliver the ball.
Somewhat interesting piece by Diefenbach - but a good deal of it is either wrong (BMB was at Wolfsburg for one year, not two) circumstantial (one lived in St Louis, one went to SLU) or just matter of course (both men were All Americans? Gee whiz, what were the odds of THAT?) And I don't care WHAT somebody's media guide lists Taylor's height at; Team media guides have been lying about physical characteristics since the dawn of time. To compare the players, compare their size with the other guys standing there in the box waiting for a cross. At that point, what some flack scribbled on a form is singularly meaningless. Still, Arena will most likely get him his shot. With the current logjam up front he'll be forced to show good stuff sooner rather than later. BUT on the bright side Fatso "Splint" Mathis is injured again. I just have to chuckle at all the people who wanted to bitch about McBride (one of the fittest, hardest working players anywhere) getting injured through aggressive play and who otherwise think his replacement should be a slow, witless overweight guy who hasn't been available to play for four straight months in five years. Bottom line though: I'm betting Twellman rises to the top of a pretty good group and starts for the US more often than not. But it's just a guess.
Twellman may not be quite as tall as McBride, but he share's McBride's willingness to bang bodies with the big boys in the box. Like, McBride, he helps out on defense as well. I think the comparison between the two is legitimate not because of superficial trivia like the St. Louis connection, but because Arena sees Twellman as another McBride in terms of work ethic. McBride probably can jump higher, but Twellman scored some impressive goals on headers: including one in the playoffs against the great Carlos Bocanegra, one in Dallas when he shoved Jay Heaps out of the way, and the famous torpedo header against DC., to name a few.
have you ever stood next to him, i think not. I'm 5'11 and he stands eye to eye with me. Ive also stood next to mcbride and hes about an inch or two taller then me. as for the comparison, Twellman is more of a player who makes alot out of little while McBride just scores on bikes and headers. They both got the skill, but i think Twellman will be better when he gets to McBrides age. Give Twellman time, you can see in the internationals that he gets open and he makes runs, its only a matter of time. But then again when you have a player like Mathis givin up the ball everytime he gets it, you wont get any support.
I like 365 but that article (and the comparison) is completely ridiculous. Twellman and McBride are two extremely different players. McBride (forget about his goals internationally) has a number of real strengths as a player. Arena has continually praised: his defense, his movement off the ball and runs into space, and his passing. I'm not slamming Twellman, but no-one is going to say that he's one of the best players in MLS (let alone at McBride's level) in any of those areas (defense, movement off the ball, and passing). Their games are and always have been totally different. Though McBride has improved in this area, I think Twellman has quicker feet, better technical ability with the ball and is probably a better pure finisher at this age. It's a joke to claim he (Twellman) is even close to McBride in the air (and that's no slam on Twellman). Basically, comparing Twellman and McBride almost like comparing Joe Max Moore and McBride--they are two totally different players.
we both know that mcbride is about 6'2'' (a little more than a few inches) i agree with twellman - im looking at the picture with me and him, we are eye level, and im 5'10''.
Hmmm...off the top of my head, 6 times (counting Rev vs. DCU matches or times where he's gotten minutes with the national team). I take it you're implying that my analysis above is wrong? Look, the comments aren't intended as an insult of Twellman. He's a fine talent and had an outstanding season last year. But it's just stupid to imply, let alone argue, that he and McBride have the same game. They don't. Those who've read a number of my posts may disagree with them but also know that I don't use words like "stupid" or "ridiculous" often. Any forward (and that includes relative munchkins like Henry Zambrano or Spencer with Colorado or Joe Max Moore or Donovan) will, at times, be asked to be a target. They will at times play with their back to the goal. They will at times distribute or lay balls off to overlapping teammates. So of course Twellman does those things--as does almost every other striker/front-runner in MLS. That said, if Twellman focused on doing primarily those things--if that was the primary value he brought to the team, and only scored 8 goals last year, he wouldn't have started as much as he did. OTOH, when you look at the US National team (prior to the World Cup), the primary case for McBride continuing to start (when he was healthy) had to do with: his defending, his ball-winning on 50-50 balls, his target ability, his runs off the ball, and his passing ability (especially with his back to goal). I still think McBride (with his feet) is a mediocre finisher and lacks the ability to create chances. My position isn't that McBride is better or that Twellman is crap. I don't really care how anyone evaluates the net worth of either. My position (from the initial post to this one) is that the 365 article is stupid b/c they are two very different players with different skill sets. Comparing the two makes as much sense as claiming Donovan and Twellman are alike, or ditto for Beasley and Convey, or Ralston and Olsen.
I don't think many people would put McBride in the best players in the MLS list. Good as he is, he really didn't produce that many goals for the Crew. Twellman, on the other hand, was on a tear last year. Not that I agree, but many thought he was the best forward in the league last year. It just shows that league play isn't always an accurate barometer for how well you'll do at the national level.
Joe W: I respectfully disagree with your hyperbolic analysis: use of the phrases "completely ridiculous" and "extremely different" are just inappropriate and off-putting. There certainly are similarities in their games. Of course their games are not identical. If that's your point, I agree.