By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Dec 11, 2008) USSoccerPlayers – With the Barclay’s Premier League almost at its halfway point we felt it an opportune time to fill you all in on the progress of the five Americans who ply their trade in the English top flight. Graig Carbino takes you from London to Birmingham and back with his mid-season review. Read on.
Clint Dempsey – Fulham FC (9th place in the EPL)
13-Apps 6-Starts 7-Sub 1-Gls (all competitions)
It’s been an up and down campaign so far for Clint Dempsey with Fulham. He lost his place in the starting XI to new signing Zoltan Gera in the preseason and was not able to win it back until mid-November. He has started Fulham’s last four games and seems to have finally supplanted Gera in the midfield.
Dempsey is still being played out of position under Roy Hodgson’s regime usually being dispatched down the right hand side of the White’s attack.
Ideally, Dempsey would like the opportunity to tuck further infield and play behind the strikers. Hodgson used Dempsey in this position once earlier in the season against West Bromwich to great effect. Unfortunately for Clint, he was put back on the bench when striker Andy Johnson returned from red card suspension.
Fulham have illusions of finishing in the top half of the Premier League this season. Lofty goals indeed for a club that barely survived relegation last year on goal differential. Still, Fulham have been defensively solid, only conceding 12 goals through 16 games. The problem is that they have only scored 13. You get the sense that Hodgson will look to bring in a new face or two during the transfer window to pump up his attack. Dempsey may have to chip in with a goal or two in January to keep his place.
Tim Howard – Everton FC (8th place in the EPL)
19-Apps 19-Starts 0-Sub (all competitions)
Tim Howard has been an ever present between the pipes for Everton since his season-long loan from Manchester United was made permanent two years ago. Everton have failed to live up to expectations this campaign and have just recently kicked their season into gear.
Until this past weekends thrilling 3-2 loss to Aston Villa they had only tasted one defeat in their previous seven matches. They needed that run after only picking up two wins out of their first eight EPL games. They were also knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Oguchi Onyewu’s upstart Standard Liege and accepted a similar fate in the Carling Cup after a 1-nil loss to Blackburn.
Howard has started every game in all competitions this season, and the number one jersey is seemingly his without rival. There were rumblings about his form at the beginning of the season when Everton were struggling for results. Not all together surprising as fans and pundits will typically point to a goalkeeper when looking for a reason why they don’t have many points. With the Toffees' recent run of form, Howard has seemingly cast off his detractors and remains the unquestioned shot-stopper on the blue half of Merseyside.
Brad Friedel – Aston Villa (5th place in the EPL, UEFA Cup 2nd round)
21-Apps 21-Starts 0-Sub (all competitions)
Aston Villa is on a roll in Europe and the English Premier League this season and they have Brad Friedel to thank. The incredibly durable 37 year-old has started every league game for the Villains this term. On November 30th he set a Premier League record for continuous games played with his 167th in a row resulting in a 0-0 draw with Fulham.
Friedel has long been viewed as one of, if the not the best, goalkeepers in England and would presumably be playing for one of the “big four” if not for his advanced professional age. He is steady if not spectacular and always seems to make important saves that keep his team in the game.
Villa are progressing well in the UEFA Cup and feel that they have the right ingredients to make it into the competitions final knockout stage. They are currently fifth in the EPL standings and sit just three points behind third place Manchester United. More than one manager has tipped them as being the only team in the league capable of cracking the top four and challenging for a Champions League place. With Friedel leading the defensive line you have to like their chances.
Brad Guzan – Aston Villa (5th place in the EPL, UEFA Cup 2nd Round)
3-Apps 3-Starts 0-Sub (all competitions)
Brad Guzan finally sealed his protracted move from MLS side Chivas USA to Aston Villa during the summer transfer window. He arrived at Villa Park with the knowledge that he would not be the clubs number one goalkeeper this season. He has set out with the goal to both learn from and challenge the above-mentioned Brad Friedel for the team’s number one jersey. It would appear that things are going just about as planned for the Illinois native.
Guzan made his debut for Aston Villa in a late September Carling Cup match against Championship side Queens Park Rangers. Unfortunately his first match was one to forget as Villa were dumped out of the Cup after a surprising 1-nil defeat. Guzan bounced back from that disappointment and was phenomenal in Aston Villa’s 1-0 UEFA Cup victory at Slavia Prague in November. He made nine saves, many of the spectacular variety, in the victory.
Manager Martin O’Neill said after the performance “I thought he (Guzan) was brilliant, really brilliant. He is a class goalkeeper in the making.” Sometimes having a bit of time to adapt to a new country and a new league isn’t the worst thing in the world, just ask Guzan.
Jonathan Spector – West Ham United (16th place in the EPL)
0-Apps 0-Starts 0-Sub 0-Gls (all competitions)
To say the first half of the Premier League season has been frustrating for Jonathan Spector would be a gross understatement. Spector has struggled with a hip injury since late last season and underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in June. Recovery time for an injury of that nature can take anywhere from 3-6 months and Spector has just recently resumed training with the team. He featured in the clubs 3-2 reserve team victory this week over a traveling MLS select squad. Spector even chipped in with a goal in the win.
West Ham have struggled so far this term in the EPL having only picked up maximum points in five of their first sixteen matches. They sit in 16th place, only three points above the dreaded “drop zone.” They seem to have the type of squad that cant possibly go down but new manager Gianfranco Zola will have to turn things around quickly to ease relegation fears. Spector hopes to work himself back into shape over the next few weeks with an eye on possibly featuring for the first team over the congested holiday fixture schedule. It’s been a long road back for Spector but his hard work should pay off as the New Year approaches.
Graig Carbino covers American Abroad and writes a weekly column for USSoccerPlayers. Contact him at graiger11@yahoo.com
