It is not always easy for international players to adjust to the rigors of MLS, but the Houston Dynamo’s newly signed Jamaican defender Jermaine Taylor is not worried. Capped 37 times by the Reggae Boyz, the 26-year-old Taylor is approaching the transition to MLS the same way he plays: with a sense of calm and confidence.
“I have seen [the game] before, and I can adapt,” he said. “The game of football is pretty easy, and it’s nothing different here.”
MORE: Jermaine Taylor player bio
Taylor showed off his composure during a very good 45 minutes against FC Dallas last Saturday. After the match, head coach Dominic Kinnear praised him for his passing, ability to win the ball in the air, and his work with Bobby Boswell. Now in his fourth year with the Dynamo, Boswell echoed his coach's sentiments, and although they have only played together for a week, he believes the partnership has worked well.
“[Jermaine] and I are working on our communication, and it’s working really well right now,” Boswell said after the game.
Communication will be key for Taylor if he is to contribute this season, particularly considering the difference in the style of play between MLS and the Jamaican Premier League, where Taylor played for Harbour View and St. George’s since turning pro in 2004.
“It’s a little different back in Jamaica,” Taylor said. “The play is sometimes lackadaisical, and the emotion is a little different; [in MLS] the play is kind of fast.”
MORE: Press release announcing Taylor's signing
“The style of play [in MLS] is different,” said Taylor’s compatriot Lovel Palmer, who joined the Dynamo in 2010. “It’s very fast and the referees here have some tackles that they won’t call. They allow the game to play, and it has some very hard and tough tackling. Here the referees allow the game to flow.”
But the differences are not something that will bother Taylor, according to his new teammates. He has the right skills to deal with it.
“He’s very calm on the ball, his passing out of the back has been very positive, which will be very good on this team,” Boswell said.
Palmer agrees and emphasizes Taylor’s usefulness for a defense that conceded 49 goals, second-most in MLS, in 2010.
“On the field he’s quick, reads the game well, and he’s comfortable on the ball,” Palmer said. “That’s something we can use on defense.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
