With a new contract signed and sealed, Taylor Twellman was a contented man as he worked out Monday with his New England Revolution teammates in the squad's preseason workout. The club's all-time leading scorer agreed an extension to his current deal with MLS over the weekend and spoke of his delight at committing himself to the New England cause for the foreseeable future.
"I got what I wanted," said Twellman. "With this team, in general, you can see that it is fun and it has a good atmosphere and (head coach) Stevie (Nicol) and (assistant) Paul (Mariner) are a pleasure to play for."
Last year, Twellman spoke out publicly, expressing that he felt he was worthy of a bigger salary and following more MLS Cup heartbreak, the offseason saw the 26-year-old linked with a move to Europe. However, although he was aware of the interest in him and admits there was some uncertainty as to where his future would lay, his motivation was simple throughout.
"I just want to play, to be honest," he said. "My biggest gripe with the league was that I wanted to be fairly compensated. The Kraft family wanted to wait until the end of the year and I am obviously very pleased with what they have come up with and I'm happy to be here."
The locking up of Twellman's services represents the latest good piece of business by the Revolution front office, with the announcement following the re-signing of a number of stalwarts of the side in recent years. Daniel Hernandez and Joe Franchino recently inked new deals, as did Twellman's strike partner, Pat Noonan. Seeing his boyhood friend commit to stay in Foxborough, Twellman admitted, was a factor in his own decision to sign.
"I think the relationship influenced us both," he said. "Pat and I are very close and we stayed in contact with each other and I wanted to know what he was doing."
With 75 goals in 130 career regular season games, as well as seven in 17 playoff matches, Twellman's value to the Revolution is obvious. Nicol agreed and is looking forward to more of the same from his talisman.
"Ever since I have been here the guy has been our top scorer every season, so to have somebody you know is going to put the ball in the net is great news for us and for everybody connected with the club," said Nicol.
For the second successive year, Twellman enters the preseason having undergone sports hernia surgery. Meanwhile, Noonan is also coming into the new campaign following injury problems. After sharing 60 goals and 34 assists in their first three seasons together, the forward pairing badly missed each other in the 2006 regular season. Twellman's total of 11 goals was the second-lowest output of his career, while Noonan found the net just once.
Signs that the partnership was getting back into its previous groove were there in the MLS Cup Playoffs as Twellman scored three goals in four games and Noonan had a goal and an assist. Nicol is hoping his strikers can avoid further injury and continue to rediscover the form that has made them one of the most feared frontlines in MLS.
"Last year was disappointing," said Nicol. "Pat picked up an injury early in the season when he was with the national team and really never recovered from it. He was always trying to catch up.
"They played together for two seasons before that. The first season was great and the second was even better. Hopefully, this season they will pick things up and improve even further. If they both stay injury-free then I don't see why they won't get better and better."
Like his coach, Twellman is looking forward. Approaching what most players would consider to be their peak years, the Revolution's No. 20 expressed his desire to make an impression for the U.S. national team, while continuing to do for his club the things that won him his new contract in the first place.
"They are paying me for what I have done and hopefully what I continue to do," he said. "There is no pressure. My job is still the same, whether it is scoring goals, helping to score goals or playing defense. I am turning 27 and am excited. This is going to be the fun part of my career and times I am looking forward to."
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
