By FRANCO PANIZO
Bolton Wanderers' run at a potential place in Europe received a boost this weekend, and Stuart Holden once again played a role in making that happen.
Facing a midfield that included the likes of Wilson Palacios and Gareth Bale, Holden helped Bolton to a big 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur with a 90-minute performance.The win gave Bolton 15 points through 11 games, putting the club just two points behind Newcastle for the Europa League spot and five behind Manchester City for the Champions League qualifying position.
Far from vying for a potential place in Europe, Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 took a step towards getting out of the relegation zone as they defeated St. Pauli, 3-0. Jones started in his return from an ankle injury and played 81 minutes.
Jones' international teammate, Clarence Goodson, played in his final game for IK Start, starting and going the distance in a 3-3 season finale draw with Haugesund. The match marked the end to Goodson's three-year stint with Start.
Here is how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and and made two saves in Everton's 2-2 draw vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Aston Villa on Saturday.
- Eddie Johnson dressed but did not play for Fulham.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw vs. Fulham on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Eric Lichaj dressed but did not play for Aston Villa.
- Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-1 loss vs. Manchester United on Saturday.
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in West Ham United's 2-2 draw vs. Birmingham on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 4-2 win vs. Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
CHAMPIONSHIP
- Conor Doyle came off the bench and played 1 minute in Derby County's 2-0 win vs. Portsmouth on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 2-2 draw vs. Burnley on Saturday. He is recovering from a calf injury.
LEAGUE ONE
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 6-0 win vs. Tipton Town in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Mike Grella did not dress for Carlisle United.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth Argyle's 4-0 loss vs. Swindon Town in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Jemal Johnson came off the bench and played 22 minutes in Milton Keynes Dons' 0-0 draw vs. Stevenage in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 3-1 win vs. St Mirren on Sunday.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 9-0 win vs. Aberdeen on Saturday.
Spain
- Jozy Altidore dressed but did not play in Villarreal's 4-1 win vs. Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 3-2 win vs. Bari on Sunday.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 4-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
- DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench and played 33 minutes for Hannover 96.
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 3-3 draw vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started, played 81 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 3-0 win vs. St Pauli on Friday.
- Ricardo Clark dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt's 3-1 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
- Daniel Williams started and played 90 minutes in SC Freiburg's 1-0 win vs. Mainz on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 2-1 win vs. Alemania Aachen on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in MSV Duisburg's 2-0 win vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Saturday.
- Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play VfL Osnabruck on Monday.
- Amaechi Igwe did not dress in FC Ingolstadt 04's 2-1 loss vs. Energie Cottbus on Friday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
France
LIGUE 1
- Carlos Bocanegra did not dress in St Etienne's 2-1 loss vs. Lorient on Saturday. He is recovering from a neck injury.
- Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 1-1 draw vs. AJ Auxerre on Saturday.
LIGUE 2
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 1-1 draw vs. Le Havre AC on Friday.
Greece
- Freddy Adu and Aris Salonika play Larissa on Monday.
Belgium
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in RSC Anderlecht's 2-2 draw vs. Club Brugge on Sunday.
Denmark
SUPERLIGA
- Michael Parkhurst dressed but did not play in FC Nordsjaelland's 0-0 draw vs. Silkeborg on Saturday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 1-1 draw vs. Esbjerg on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe did not dress for Aalborg BK. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
VIASAT DIVISION
- Benny Feilhaber started and played 90 minutes in AGF Aarhus's 3-0 win vs. FC Fredericia on Sunday.
Sweden
- Alejandro Bedoya started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Orebro SK's 1-0 loss vs. Trelleborgs FF on Sunday.
- Ryan Miller started and played 90 minutes in Halmstads BK's 2-0 win vs. Djurgarden on Sunday.
Norway
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in IK Start's 3-3 draw vs. Haugesund on Sunday.
- Hunter Freeman did not dress for IK Start. He is recovering from an injury.
- Mikkel Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 1-0 loss vs. Molde on Sunday.
- Steve Clark dressed but did not play Honefoss BK's 6-1 loss vs. Sandefjord on Sunday.
Mexico
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 2-1 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 13 minutes for Pachuca.
- Marco Vidal dressed but did not play for Pachuca.
- Edgar Castillo came off the bench and played 1 minute in San Luis' 1-1 draw vs. Santos on Saturday.
- Sammy Ochoa dressed but did not play in Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.'s 4-2 win vs. Toluca on Friday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress in Atlante's 1-0 loss vs. America on Saturday.
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How far do you think Bolton and Holden can go this season? Do you see Schalke and Jones avoiding relegation? What do you think of Goodson's time at IK Start?
Share your thoughts below.
Watched Bolton – Tottenham. Holden is the Jaon Kidd of American soccer. The guy has an uncanny ability to pick the ball from attacking players. Prior to that game, i thought his “highest tackle percentage” in the EPL stat was a fluke, but now I believe.
One play you won’t see in the youtube highlights…the play before Bolton’s long ball out of the back that led to Petrov’s goal was a Tottenham break away and it was Holden, back tracking, who made the goal-saving tackle at the edge of Bolton’s pentalty box, which started the Bolton counter.
Holden is going to force his way into the US starting 11 and in the middle, too.
What is the upside?
Williams does not get 90 minutes on a consistent basis.
He has 10 appearances for his club, i.e. 10-20 minutes late.
He has played left back when asked but he is basically a defensive midfielder. It seems to me you’d like to see a lot more of him before you make him our next German American savior.
Clint has played up top numerous times for the USMNT. However, the USMNT is not Fulham and any US striker better be used to not getting any service at all. So when Dempsey is up there, he has often wound up coming back to look for the ball.
Now that Jones is around and Holden seems to be getting better perhaps things will change. I haven’t seen all of Bolton’s games but I agree with your assessment of Holden. He has fit in well with a good team and plays in a system that makes the most use of his talents. That shows you how important it is to have a manager who believes in you. He’s not Bolton’s most talented player but in that team everyone has a role so it’s hard to say one player is better than another.
Beat me to it. He looked rusty and couldnt get around defenders. Couldnt connect a pass it was sad to watch hopefully it was just rust and he regains.
did he get 77 or 13?
Maybe not….but there’s higher upside.
Nice thread guys. Got a few laughs out of me.
Question: is “reserves” team play in France a higher caliber than first-team play in MLS?
Maybe that’s a general statement. As in “Adu dressed in the morning, but did not play”.
I’d have to say that if you’re getting 90 minutes in the Bundesliga, you’re probably worthy of getting capped. Especially if you’re a left back, considering USMNT’s struggles there.
I have not seen every game, but numerous games, and agree on Bolton. Holden is as much a reason for how well they’ve played as anyone on their squad.
sure didn’t sound like you’ve seen every game; certainly you don’t watch the USMNT from the Clint comment
happy Monday
CD9 with 77 minutes for Sochaux reserves.
http://www.fcsochaux.fr/fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2206&Itemid=106
Well Gooch, that’s one way to get that transfer…
Lichaj has dressed almost every game thus far for Villa.
at least he’s consistently dressed, which is a hell of a lot more you can say for Specs, Gooch and Lichaj.
+1!
Sorry EPL, I’m too busy watching the MLS playoffs to care about you right now.
Can’t wait to see Agudelo get his first cap
Ive seen every Bolton game this season, they outplayed almost every opponent and had bad luck with getting draws instead of wins and also they shouldve beaten liverpool by outplaying them the entire match. Shouldve beaten Fulham by outplaying them just as badly as they did liverpool.
Petrov,Lee,Muamba,Knight,Cahill,K.Davies.Matty Tayolor, Ivan Klasnic, Elmander most times are all playing very well. Muamba has been taking some heat lately but that’ll change.
Bolton will end the season in the top 7, theyve looked solid.
Have you watched any Bolton games because Ive seen every one this season… You’ll be impressed i think once you see them continually get top teams the run.
Beasley looked completely inept in those 33 minutes that he played
Doesn’t seem like he has seen Bolton or the USMNT…
he hasn’t been a consistent starter this year, and while he’s a good prospect, hes not deserving of a call up yet. If he keeps progressing and playing then he will, but not yet
Can we get Daniel Williams capped please
Dude’s Argentinian bro. Plays for their U-20’s
he’s dressing?
It looks like Cervi is not even the back up at Celtic he should be looking to move in January maybe to the MLS.
I know Freddy Adu and Aris is playing Monday but u can just slap a “dressed but did not play” on there
Hoyos went 90 and scored for Estudiantes down in Argentina.
Hahahaha…yea I’m sure he’s reeeeaal close to becoming a starter. Clearly the frankfurt coaching staff watched the world cup too.
seems like benny and aarhus are rolling through the second division over there
what about Ricardo Clark? How class is he to starting for Frankfurt? I know they’re 3rd atm but surely he should get a starting role by season’s end.
I bet he can find a club in Germany. He used a German passport to get to Man U i believe. And he impressed at the 09 CC and plus he’s 24, so he should have a few suitors.
best part of the article is the comments. one good one in there openly questioning why Gooch doesn’t play, noting he just scored with the USMNT
Grazie molto! and yes, that’s what I’m referring to
You’re referring to their fight with one another on Friday, otherwise not many may know what you’re asking about. Go to La Gazetta dello Sport
http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Milan/05-11-2010/rissa-ibra-onyewu-711709980274.shtml
Bradley has used Clint in the role you discuss for quite some time
on Bolton, have you seen them play?
Gooch and Ibrahimovic…any info on that anyone?
From watching him play, I believe what’s happened is that he played (towards the end of last season and beginning of this one) himself out of the first team squad with some consistently lousy performances. While he certainly has decent attacking instincts, he’s too easily beat in the EPL by pacey wingers and has made a couple of positional blunders that cost WHam on the scoresheet. Having said this, I hope he gets a transfer to a mid table club in Holland, Denmark, or Germany and gets his confidence back.
is this Germany Jones’ first game back from injury?
I hope he continues with no major injuries,
also
Has Dempsey always been used as a striker for Fulham?(I thought he was playing attacking winger)
Why the hell can’t BB create a formation with him as a secondary striker or whatever, the guy finds the goal allll the time. We need Holden and Jones setting dempsey altidore and donavon up so we dominate please.
Holden hasnt scored a goal this season but is said to be their overall best/most important player so far, and if you look at the lineup, I personally wouldnt put him above like at least 7-8 of their players, I think hes on the best team he could possibly be on and start for along with a great coach.
The way Bolton is playing this year, they’re going to end their season in the top 10.
My critique of Bolton is the bypass the middle way to much and there is way to much space between the strikers and the midfield. For me stu is being mis used he should be higher than muamba, he is better on the ball and crashes the box very well, not sure how high they can stay but they ve given themselves a chance.
he needs to get the hell out of the prem in january that’s for sure
good weekend for american players, i hoppe i could say that of our wnt, what a shame…
what wtf has happened jonathan spector
BOO!