He is a good striker who hasn't had enough run outs with the USMNT to write off yet and he is very young. Problem is we are deep at the position he plays so his opportunities to impress are limited.
He didn't score yesterday but did set up the first goal. Give him time. You can't be the top scorer in the MLS for nothing.
I don't think they're feeding him the ball where he needs it. His US teammates are treating him like he's McBride with all these headers they're sending him. He's 5'8", once these guys find the spots to hit him at he'll start scoring. Also, he may not be the most athletically gifted of our strikers, but if you give him a good chance on goal he's more consistent scorer than any other guy we have.
Kiro is the most selfish player on our roster. It's ok to be selfish inside the 18, but he seriously did not want to pass the ball anywhere inside of 40. It made Twellman's job difficult, so much so that Taylor was dropping back into the midfield just to get a sniff at the ball. Once Twellman gets used to playing with the other guys (like Lewis, Kiro, Klein), and the other guys get used to playing with him, I think you'll see the goals.
Twellman with the B squad??? Taylor is somebody who know what to do with the ball once in front of the goal.... play Taylor and JOKY is redundant, and I wonder how long have Taylor trained with the squad .....?
He's had, what, 3 games for the nats? Sure, he sucks, eh? How many 3 game stretches has McBride gone without scoring? Kirovski? Wolff? Anyone else you can think of? Do they all 'stink'? Give him a chance.
Wouldn't hurt him to hit the weight room, the way the NZ defenders were pushing him around. If he's going to be an international striker, he'll need to be able to hold off the taller, more physical defenders.
Twellman did get knocked around but he is a tireless worker out there. He set one of the goals up and has alot of potential on the Nat. team. I dont know about Kiro up there though.....
Dear Jim, Give him time. You can't be the top scorer in the MLS for nothing. Roy Lassiter, Jason Kries and Preki
Now I am not on the Twellman bandwagon by any stretch of the imagination (I'm not a really big fan of his)...but why do so many people insist that a striker has to score EVERY game!!??..or even get an assist. I don't understand this at all. There are plenty other areas in the game to worry about besides hitting the net. Yes, you have to score to win, but you aren't going to score every game. And if you think you have to do this to be a good striker you are foolish.
He plays with heart...I think that’s what Bruce really likes about him and the fact he flat out scores. TT will get a lot so looks from Bruce and I he will play an essential role in the road to 2006. He’s the kind of players you want on the field from the team perspective he gives all he has.
He's still very young & should be given time to develop with the Nats. I think he'll be effective for us, as a scorer, though not on the level of Landon, Clint or McBride. However, IMO it's WAY too early to "give up" on Twellman.
Twellman had a great late goal scoring opportunity stymied when Gibbs stepped in front of him, too. He also had a nice shot that was very well saved by the NZ keeper in the first half. Frankly, he was very unlucky not to have scored against NZ, if you ask me. Whatever. In general, I like the way he plays with the nats. Kreis? Jesus, Kreis did nothing for the national team: A yellow card 5 seconds into a WC qualifier; missed a handful of open nets. Nothing. My only criticism of Twellman is that he sometimes goes down a bit easy and looks to the ref for the call. I doubt that'll work during quals (especially on the road).
He's the new Lassiter. Scoring champion in MLS, but poor performance for the national team. Hopefully this turns out to be false, but so far it is looking that way.
the guy has played 151 minutes of international soccer which broken down is really about a game and a half. Pretty poor to write off a kid with his talent. BTW Roy lassiter, 19 caps 5 goals, I am no lassiter fan but thats not bad numbers.
Twellman had a frustrating game against New Zealand. He got hammered a few times and that joke of a Canadian Ref didn't call it, then gets a yellow card for a "flop." Jovan hogged the ball all game. There were several opportunities that Taylor, had he got serivce, would have had good scoring chances but was missed by fellow teammates. He worked very hard for the team and probably felt that he wasn't getting back what he put in. His body language spoke volumes ... especially when Martino decided to take on his defender instead of crossing to him in the final minutes before his substitution. He was sulking! If Twellman wants to be the focal point of the offense he better score an onion bag full of goals at the Confed otherwise he will have to make due with being a McBride replacement. And guess what: as soon as Mcbride comes back ... I hope it works for Taylor. He has much to offer the Nats.
To me, Twellman just looks too slow to play on the international level. You can hide speed issues some places on the field, but it is hard to be a good striker when your not fast. Someone quoted Lassie's numbers with the NATS. All speed. When Ben Olsen was Ben Olsen before injuries he was a solid NAT from speed. Cobi. Landon. Beasley. All fast guys. Guys get technically better, they get smarter with more minutes. They don't usually get faster. Has he really only had 151 minutes? It IS too early to write him off. He'll get more chances and it will be apparent if he belongs or not. My bet is "not".