The task is simple yet daunting. Replace a successful U.S. international striker who enjoyed an almost telepathic understanding with the team's leading scorer honed after years of playing together.
That's a lot of weight on the shoulders of a 19-year-old Gambian who has lived in the United States for less than a year and has played only 14 MLS minutes.
But that is the challenge that faced Revolution striker Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally as he entered his first full season with the club.
Mansally joined the team only last September. Revolution head coach Steve Nicol spotted Mansally and teammate Sainey Nyassi flying up and down the wings for Gambia in last summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. After a protracted period of pursuit and contract wrangling, the pair joined at the end of last season.
Once Nicol signed Mansally, he had to figure out where to play him. Two goals in four reserve games turned Mansally into the speedy reserve striker the team had been missing. The reserve success only translated into one late season substitute appearance and 14 minutes of first-team action in Chicago.
"The system we use here is different from the one we used with Gambia during the U-20 World Cup in Canada," Mansally said. "It took some time to get used to it."
When Revolution fixture Pat Noonan left to head abroad, Mansally and Adam Cristman were the primary candidates to start in his place after the team didn't sign a direct replacement for Noonan during the offseason.
Five goals in six preseason games from Mansally turned heads on the team's travels to Bermuda, Mexico, and Louisiana.
"Kenny's just hungry to play the game," Nicol said. "He's really stepped up during the preseason. When Pat left, you'd think Adam's the guy. [Kenny's] making it a hard decision for us."
Goals tend to make those decisions easier. So too does Mansally's style of play. Cristman plays similarly to Twellman, doing most of his work inside the box on the end of crosses.
Mansally's style adds a different attacking dimension. When he latches onto the ball, he can hold off defenders who want the ball and pass it off to supporting players. When he gets the space to turn, Mansally will run at players and try to beat them off the dribble with his pace.
"His forte is going at players," Nicol said.
For a team that's used to Twellman and Noonan, it's quite a departure.
"He's got a different element to his game," midfielder Jeff Larentowicz said. "Noonan and Twellman play with their back to goal. Noonan would get wide and try to get the ball into Taylor. Kenny's more of a direct player. He's working out how to play with Taylor."
Finding chemistry with Twellman could prove easier after that bench-ridden observation period at the end of last season, but Twellman's knee injury might force Mansally to wait.
"I got to play with Taylor in Cancun," Mansally said. "I wanted to see how I could work with him. Since I came to the Revolution, I've watched Noonan and Taylor from the sidelines. I thought that maybe I could partner him when Noonan left."
Mansally made an instant impact in the Revolution's 3-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo in the season opener, setting up Steve Ralston's opening goal when Pat Onstad could only push his shot into Ralston's path. Nicol is trying to ratchet down expectations for Mansally as that weight on his shoulders continues to grow.
"He's only a kid," Nicol said. "He needs to get some experience, but the energy and the willingness are there."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
