The Return of the King (Of Fulham)
Let me start out by apologizing for not having updated in a while. I’ll put a little something up tonight about recent events, and we’ll resume normal everyday service tomorrow.
Brian McBride only made his comeback a couple of weeks ago, but has already started to show how important he is to Fulham. With his return, and that of Jimmy Bullard, Fulham look a completely different side. They beat Everton on Sunday thanks to a McBride goal in the second half for their first victory in 27 years. Now they are only 3 points from safety, and may be looking to move up the table. Not only has McBride been performing well, but Eddie Johnson has started to see regular playing time with the team, and had some good opportunities against Everton. I can see him getting off the mark soon.
Back Stateside, the Superliga has announced it’s groups for the upcoming competition. DC United, Houston, Atlante, and Chivas Guadalajara are in Group A. Group B consists of Chivas USA, New England, Santos Laguna, and Pachuca. It should be a pretty good competition, but expect some teams to show a little bit of rust.
Lastly, the United States Olympic Qualifying team has been doing poorly. They’ve won a few, but have not impressed at all. We’ll have more on that tomorrow….
UEFA Cup and Pan-Pacific Championship
It is all quiet on the American front recently. Some of our players abroad are currently playing in the UEFA Cup, including first choice keeper Tim Howard. The side thrashed SK Brann 6-1. Nigerian striker Yakubu lead the Everton attack with his second hat-trick at the club. He was fined and dropped by his manager for returning late from the African Nations Cup, but I’m sure all has been forgiven now. Elsewhere in the Cup, Freddy Adu was an unused substitute for Benfica in a 2-2 draw against Nurnberg.
We did have two MLS teams in action in the Pan-Pacific Championship. The LA Galaxy, lead by David Beckham, were dreadful. They were beaten 1-0 by Gamba Osaka. The team was completely dominated and lacked creativity coming forward. Though it is true that both Donovan and Ruiz were out injured, it was still an embarrassing performance. Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit blames the poor performance on the artificial turf and the fact that there were many new faces on the team that hadn’t gotten used top playing together yet.
There was a team there that didn’t make the MLS look terrible, and that was the Houston Dynamo. The attack was lead by Hawaii native Brian Ching. The Dynamo beat Sydney FC 3-0. Hopefully Brian Ching can continue to play well into the season. His ability to hold up the ball and play with his back to the net is vital for Houston, and could become a vital part of the US National Team’s play. I know all the excitement is about Altidore and Adu, but let’s not forget that we have a decent striker in Brian Ching. I say we slot him in and completely forget about Taylor Twellman. Forever.
RIP Phil O’Donnell
There are a few things to get out of the way before we get back into the football action. Let us start by apologizing for the lack of activity recently. With the holiday season, Brian and I have been pretty busy. We will be updating regularly again and don’t expect any long breaks in the near future. And since we missed it, everyone here at StateSide Footy would like to wish everyone a happy new year.
Also, we would like to send out our condolences to the family and friends of Phil O’Donnell and all of the fans of Motherwell. The veteran collapsed on the field during a game versus Dundee United and died shortly after. He will be missed by all in the footballing community.
The Premiership
Italy and Spain have been on break so we’ll focus on the English Premier League. Arsenal sits on the top of the table to start the new year, but Manchester United are hot on their heels. Arsenal stays atop with a 2-0 win over West Ham United. With all of their injury problems, Jonathan Spector has been able to see a lot of playing time in his left back position. He was able to help lead West Ham to a shock win over the champions earlier, but was unable to stop Arsenal. Manchester United, on the other hand, dispatched Birmingham City 1-0 to stay in the hunt. Both teams are just waiting for the other to slip up. I have a feeling it is going to be a tight race all the way until the end.
One team that can’t be ruled out yet is Chelsea. They faced a few issues earlier in the season and still have a long injury list, but have been able to avoid losing points to stay close to the top. With the return of Ballack, they should be able to stay at least in contention until Terry, Carvalho, Lampard, Drogba, and Cech return. The London club were able beat Fulham today 2-1 with the last goal coming from the penalty spot after Clint Dempsey took down Ballack in the area. There was a shirt tug, but Ballack did go down rather easily, and the call could have gone either way.
Elsewhere in the league, Everton and Tim Howard were able to defeat Middelsborough 2-0. Marcus Hahnemann and Reading got their second defeat in a row by losing to Portsmouth 2-0. They never had much of a chance as Sonko was sent off early in the match for a clumsy challenge in the area.
Daily Roundup: 12/2/07
Just a quick update for you guys, let’s hop right into this!
Damarcus Beasley
Rangers and USA winger Damarcus Beasley will be out for at least a year following knee surgery. This is a tough break for all parties involved as Beasley was really hitting his stride for Rangers, and it now leaves the USMNT with huge holes on its left side. Jen Chang at EspnSoccernet has an interesting take on who should replace Beasley on the left wing. You can check that out here. I think Freddy Adu could shine in this spot if he was willing to let go of the idea of being the # 10 and attacking midfielder for the USMNT, at least for now. With Adu on the left, you can have Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Freddy Adu on the field at the same time. This would allow Bob Bradley to field his strongest squad. We’ll have to see what happens here.
u-23 Olympic Team
In other USA news, u-23 Coach Peter Nowak named the u-23 Squad for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, China next summer. The lineup is as follows…
Goalkeepers: Zac MacMath (Clearwater Chargers), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake).
Defenders: Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Jon Leathers (Furman University), Mike Randolph (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Tim Ward (Columbus Crew), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC).
Midfielders: Arturo Alvarez (FC Dallas), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Michael Harrington (Kansas City Wizards), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Freddy Adu(SL Benfica), Sacha Kljestan (CD Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas).
Forwards: Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Adam Cristman (New England Revolution), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF, Sweden), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96, Germany).
Wow. That’s a lot of talent. I feel like this team can win a medal in this tournament, if it plays up to its potential. That is a big if though, considering the US has fallen flat on its face in a few of the last few tournaments(2006 World Cup, Copa America, u-17 World Cup, 2007 Women’s World Cup). Hopefully Nowak has this team set up and ready to go next summer. The team will go play 4 qualifying games in China during December. An interesting plot to watch is the relationship between Nowak and Freddy Adu. When Nowak coached DC United, Adu was the newest sensation with the team and MLS. They had a very rocky relationship while at United, and while they have apparently patched things up, the way they interact will be interesting to watch.
That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with updates from Europe!
Weekend Action and World Cup Qualifying Draw
English Premier League
The premier league was well underway this weekend. Arsenal moved away at the top of the table with Manchester United slipping up against Bolton, while Bolton finally move out of the relegation zone. Derby still sit at the bottom with 6 points. Benny Feilhaber made a substitute appearance against Chelsea, but couldn’t keep them from losing yet again. After the game, the team parted ways with manager Billy Davies. You have to feel bad for him. He lost his job for over achieving if you think about it. The team was obviously not ready for the Premier League, but over achieved and got promoted anyways. Regardless, look for their new manager to spend quite a lot of money in the January transfer period to try and rebuild the team. If we’re lucky, he’ll like Benny Feilhaber much better than Davies did.
A struggling Reading lost yet again. Stephen Ireland unleashed a rocket in stoppage time to give Manchester City all 3 points. Even though they lost, it was nice to see Bobby Convey get a full game under his belt. Tim Howard looked good yet again for Everton, even though he didn’t need to be. Everton’s offense unleashed a 7 goal performance on Sunderland. The team seems to be revitalized with the return of Tim Cahill after a long injury. Roy Keane’s side has really fallen off the pace after a good start to the season, and if they continue this play they could see themselves back in the Championship. Fulham played good once again, but failed to hold on to all 3 points. With a little tweaking in the transfer window, this side could move into a comfortable mid-table position. This will be a much needed improvement, as year after year they find themselves in the relegation battle.
Liverpool, one of two undefeated teams in the league, are apparently going through some sort of crisis. At least that’s what American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks think. You can see where they are coming from, though. With all the money they spent over the summer, Benitez should have his side higher than 5th. That being said, the public arguing is doing nothing but hurting the team. If it continues, especially Benitez calling out the owners again, we may see a change in management at the team.
Portuguese Liga
Freddy Adu seems to have found his scoring stride for Benfica. He scored yet again in the teams 3-1 win over the weekend. He’s starting to look like their ’super-sub’, but if he continues to perform, we could be seeing him start very soon. The team is sitting comfortably in second place behind FC Porto.
The goal can be seen here.
Champion’s League
The Champion’s League began it’s second to last group stage round today. DaMarcus Beasley and Rangers were unlucky to lose to Stuttgart 3-2. Marica found the winner for the German champions in the 85th minute. Beasley played well getting an assist from a corner kick. Once again, he had to leave the game with an injury. That’s not surprising at all. If I was a betting man, I would put my money on the fact that he’s made of porcelain, and will get injured every other game. It’s frustrating that a player with his skills has such bad luck with injuries. Hopefully he doesn’t become the United States’ ‘Michael Owen’.
LA Galaxy
The Galaxy played a friendly against Sydney FC in their Beckham tour. The game was anything but friendly. I’ve had trouble finding highlights, but some of the Galaxy players really made the league look bad, starting quite a few little skirmishes. There was even a pretty deliberate stomping towards the end. There was a game played too, and both Beckham and Donovan were able to get on the scoreboard. It was not enough as Sydney won 5-3. Beckham’s was a trademark freekick, while Donovan scored towards the end after the game was already out of reach. Sydney dominated the game, making the Galaxy look like the kind of team that they really are. A terrible one.
Highlights can be seen here.
World Cup Draw
The drawing for World Cup qualifiers happened over the weekend. All the publicity goes to England, as they drew Croatia in what is sure to be an intense match-up. There are some things to talk about in the CONCACAF division. The United States drew Barbados (124), Dominica (129), and Cuba (70). That pretty much translates into easy win, easy win, and easy win. It may seem cocky to say, but our qualifying group is a bit of a joke. There are some political matters in the background in group, though that probably won’t improve the football being played. It will be the first time the United States has ever played against Cuba, and the first time we’re playing them at all since 1949. Still, however, I predict an easy win.
Altidore to Spain?
Just a quick update before the game against South Africa tomorrow morning. Jozy Altidore will be in the squad for the first time. There are rumors linking him with Atletico Madrid at the moment, but not too much information has come out on that. The source is Sky Sports, so it’s somewhat reliable.
In London, Lawrie Sanchez has stated that he plans having captain Brian McBride back from injury for their game against Wigan on the 22nd of December. It would be a great early Christmas present for a Fulham side who have played well this year, but haven’t managed to secure the results. Most of their losses are when teams come from behind, so McBride’s leadership may stabilize the team.
In Spain on Tuesday, Danny Szetela finally made his debut for Racing Santander in their 0-0 draw against Malaga. He played almost 70 minutes before being subbed out.
In MLS news, Luciano Emilio has been named MVP of the league, beating out fellow newcomers Angel and Blanco. An ESPN article about it can be seen here.
That’s it for now. Come back for a preview of tomorrow’s game later today. Also expect an MLS Cup Final preview tomorrow.
UPDATE: There is now a report coming out of Spain that Real Madrid is also scouting the Red Bulls Star. Here is a link to the article. Its in Spanish so good luck reading it, but a translation website pretty much told me everything I needed to know. I thought there might have been a chance that Altidore stayed, but I do expect him to be sold in January now.
Daily Roundup 11/12/07
What’s up everyone? Been a while since I’ve been here. Plenty of things went on in Europe and StateSide this weekend, so lets hop right in….
The English Premier League was in full swing this weekend, with Blackburn Rovers taking on champions Manchester United. Rovers lost 2-0 to United with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging the brace over Brad Friedel. It could have been much worse for Rovers, but Friedel had an excellent game save the 2 goals he allowed. He stopped shots from Carlos Tevez, Rio Ferdinand, and denied Ronaldo a hat trick in the second half. Tim Howard and Everton faced off agaisnt Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Howard played well, denying England international Frank Lampard twice, but was hurt by terrible defending on the goal by Didier Drogba. Everton then shocked Chelsea by sneaking a goal in off of a beautiful bicycle by Carlo Cudicini. Derby County is up next and they played West Ham United. Derby lost 5-0 ,with an Eddie Lewis own goal as a part of their demise. Benny Feilhaber once again did not make the bench for Derby. I’ve said it in nicer terms before but I’m just going to put it all on the table here. Derby are terrible. I have to wonder about the person in charge there, because Feilhaber not being able to get minutes in this side is just down right maddening. Hopefully this will change, but I’ve been saying it for weeks and it hasn’t. We shall see. And finally, Fullham fought hard but lost to Liverpool 2-0. Clint Dempsey was booked for dissent while he and Carlos Bocanegra both played the full 90 min. for the Cottagers. Liverpool was boosted by goals from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Its time folks. The decision has finally been made to give New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore his first cap for the USMNT as they take on South Africa this Saturday, 9 am on Fox Soccer Channel. Here is the rest of the lineup…..
GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard (Everton FC), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA)
DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege)
MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)
FORWARDS: Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
I’m surprised to see Jay Demerit not in this side, but other than that, I love it. No Eddie Johnson, no Taylor Twellman, all is good with me. That’s the news for the day. Check back tomorrow for a preview of the MLS Cup!
Daily RoundUp: 10/22/07
Good Afternoon to everyone. There’s a lot of news today, so lets jump right in…..
It was a busy week in Europe for our boys this weekend. Coming off the international break, it was interesting to see how club teams came out and played following the break. While some teams like Manchester United and Arsenal came storming out of the break, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona and Italian giants AC Milan all lost. The English Premier League saw US keepers Brad Friedel and Marcus Hahnemann face off with Friedel coming out as the victor. Blackburn won 4-2 with the Rovers slotting 4 past Hahnemann, who didn’t have the best day he’s ever had. Bobby Convery missed out on this one, as he is still recovering from an injured leg. Fullham and Debry County were up next and this game was a tie 0-0. Clint Dempsey and Eddie Lewis each played the full 90 min. Carlos Bocanegra came on in the second half for Fullham. Kasey Keller was not included on the Fullham bench, and fellow American Benny Feilhaber was not included for Derby either. Fullham Captain Brian Mcbride is still out with a dislocated knee, although he is expected back by Christmas. Everton lost to Liverpool 2-1 with US # 1 keeper Tim Howard allowing 2 goals to the Reds.
Back in the States, the Chicago Fire eliminated David Beckham and the LA Galaxy on Sunday to lock up the final playoff spot for the Fire. While it would have been nice to see Beckham in the playoffs, its probably a good thing that the Galaxy didn’t make it. Don’t let their late run fool you. This team is terrible. Its Beckham, Donovan, Cannon, and that’s about it. Should Alexi Lalas keep his job, he will have a lot of work to do when it comes to rebuilding this team. Later this week, we’ll have a detailed look at the upcoming MLS playoffs.
In Team USA news, Women’s national team coach Greg Ryan has been fired by the USSF. Ryan was fired just a month after the top ranked US women were eliminated in the semifinals of the World Cup. Sunil Gulati said that the next coach will have to have international experience and will need knowledge of US soccer. Good call, Sunil. Hopefully you mess this one up like you did with Jurgen Klinsmann. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bob Bradley, but I really had my heart set on Klinsmann.
On a different note, I am shocked to see that AC Milan keeper Dida had his 2 match ban reduced to one game by UEFA. For those who don’t know, Dida was “attacked” by a Celtic fan after the Champions League matchup between Celtic and Milan. The fan came on to the field and pushed(and that’s pushing it for lack of a better word) Dida, who began to run after then fan, then inexplicably dropped to the grass like he had been shot. Pure acting job, and what made it worse was the fact that Dida had to be carted off the field for injuries that were nonexistent. So UEFA decides to ban him from 2 Champions League games. Milan appeals, and of course, the ban is reduced to one game. The reason cited? He sincerely regretted his actions. Well of course he did. I’m sure he did, because of his actions at the San Siro the next time they were at home. Still, I can’t believe that UEFA based their decision on that. While I’m sure that wasn’t the whole basis, the fact that that’s the reason they gave just angers me. I’m not looking to start an argument, but I find it interesting and appalling that Milan always manages to wiggle its way out of actually being disciplined for its actions. The example I’ll cite is the match fixing scandal in Italy. While Juventus is relegated to Serie B for its actions, Milan is only docked 7 points and they are allowed to stay in the Champions League. I probably come off as bitter, but I feel that Milan is held to a different standard and the fan in me would like to know why. That’s the news for the day, have a good one folks.
Freddy Adu Scores His First Goal For Benfica
Well the Carling Cup continued today and a couple of Americans were involved. Frank Simek took part as Sheffield Wednesday lost 3-0 to Everton. Everton rested Tim Howard as most Premiership sides rest their starting keepers for this competition. It may be because I’m biased, but I don’t see Frank Simek’s career taking off with Sheffield Wednesday. If they can return to their Premiership days, there may be a chance, but I think after a while he might want to move on. Spector was also on the bench for West Ham.
In bigger news, Freddy Adu scored his first goal for Benfica. He came on as a second half substitute. A Taça de Portugal player committed a handball in the area. In a surprise move, Adu was elected to take the penalty, and easily put it home. He took another penalty in a shootout after regular time ended 1-1. Hopefully he can score from open field next time and start to move into regular first team action. It is nice to see the team has confidence in him to allow him to take that penalty, and have him be their first taker in the shootout. Anyone that knows me knows that I have sometimes have doubts about Adu, but it is good to see him on the score sheet.
A few programming notes before I leave you. The United States Women’s Team Semifinal against Brazil will be shown on ESPN2 tomorrow with coverage starting at 7:30 Am ET. (The game doesn’t start until a couple of minutes before 8.) Also on ESPN2, LA Galaxy take on Kansas City at 8:00 PM ET. Kansas City will be looking for all three points, as the playoff race is on. The Chicago Fire are “lighting a fire” underneath them, and it may turn into a tight race down the stretch.
Women’s Team Advances to the Semis
Women’s World Cup
The ladies’ team was victorious yet again this morning, dispatching England with a score of 3-0. The game was a rather tight affair. Both teams showed their defensive quality, but the Americans had that slight extra advantage. When Abby Wambach broke the deadlock in the 48th minute, the floodgates opened. Shannon Boxx and Kristine Lilly scored in quick succession to put the game away. We’ll post highlights as soon as we are able to find them.
With Kelly Smith leading England’s attack, the Americans were able to show how stout they are defensively. With a strong performance by the defense in the semis, it is hard to see anyone beat them. They will face the winner of Brazil versus Australia, and we can only hope that Australia comes up with an upset. Marta is a force to be reckoned with, and avoiding her would be a very lucky thing for the United States. The semifinal will take place next Thursday.
Premier League
It was not as busy a Saturday as we are used to. Only half of the games took place today, while the other half will take place tomorrow. Benny Feilhaber got a decent amount of time for Derby County today. He was brought on in the 56th minute, but had little effect. Arsenal’s midfield was suffocating, and there was nothing Derby could do to stop them. The game ended 5-0, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a hat trick. You can’t help but to feel that Derby are doomed for relegation. However, the presence of Giles Barnes back from injury will provide them with a slight spark, and a scoring threat that they haven’t had so far this season. Another bright note is that Eddie Lewis, the American veteran, did look lively on the left wing today. He has a decent crossing ability, but just needs someone to get on the other end. Even with the big loss, I think Lewis has cemented his place in the team, whether it be as a starter or someone that can come on late in the game.
Marcus Hahnemann lead Reading to a 2-1 victory over Wigan to end their slump. They seem to have fallen into the “sophomore slump” category that most teams that have just come up suffer from. With such a great season last year, they were expected to do well again. But with little luck in the transfer market, including the loss of Sidwell to Chelsea (which in my opinion was a very questionable career decision), they have gotten off to a very slow start. The win has taken them out of the relegation zone, and lets hope they can stay out.
Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra played the full 90 minutes in Fulham’s 3-3 draw against Manchester City. The draw brings Fulham out of the relegation zone along with Reading. Fulham have looked good this season, although their point total doesn’t show it. They have a fighting mentality and an ability to never give up in the game. With their determination, and a little luck, it is easy to see them staying up this year, and even making it to a mid-table position.
Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley scored 2 in Herenveen’s 5-3 victory over Helsingborg in the Uefa Cup on Thursday. Highlights can be seen here. Credit to for providing the highlights.