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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

JozyAltidoreSunderland1-Chelsea (AP)

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jozy Altidore may not have found the back of the net in his first start in 2014, but he did manage to make an impact.

Altidore helped Sunderland pick up a positive result on a weekend that was full of FA Cup matches, assisting on the final goal in the Black Cats’ third round 3-1 victory over Carlisle United. Altidore, who started and went the distance, set up El Hadji Ba in the waning moments of the home fixture to give himself a team-high sixth assist across all competitions this season.

Other positive developments in the FA Cup came via Clint Dempsey making his Fulham return and Sebastian Lletget making his professional debut with a start for West Ham United. Dempsey showed some rust but played 90 minutes in a 1-1 road draw vs. Norwich City, and Lletget earned a start on a young Hammers team that suffered a 5-0 mauling at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

It was not all good news, however. Michael Bradley was an unused substitute as AS Roma suffered their first defeat of the season to league leaders Juventus in a battle of the top two teams in Serie A on Sunday, and Oguchi Onyewu was also left on the bench in Queens Park Rangers’ 4-0 loss to Everton in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:

ENGLAND

FA Cup (Third Round)

  • Tim Howard dressed but did not play in Everton’s 4-0 win vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
  • Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 1-1 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
  • Jozy Altidore started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Sunderland’s 3-1 win vs. Carlisle United on Sunday.
  • Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 2-1 win vs. Leicester City on Saturday.
  • Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
  • Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Sheffield United on Saturday.
  • Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
  • Cody Cropper did not dress in Southampton’s 4-3 win vs. Burnley on Saturday. He is recovering from an injury.
  • Jonathan Spector did not play this weekend.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-1 win vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Derby County’s 2-0 loss vs. Chelsea on Sunday.
  • Eric Lichaj started and played 58 minutes in Nottingham Forest’s 5-0 win vs. West Ham United on Sunday.
  • Danny Williams came off the bench and played 17 minutes in Reading’s 1-0 loss vs. Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
  • Brek Shea did not dress in Barnsley’s 2-1 loss vs. Coventry City on Saturday.
  • Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Queens Park Rangers’ 4-0 loss vs. Everton on Saturday.
  • Duane Holmes came off the bench and played 32 minutes in Huddersfield Town’s 3-2 win vs. Grimsby Town on Saturday.
  • Gboly Ariyibi dressed but did not play in Leeds United’s 2-0 loss vs. Rochdale on Saturday.
  • Sebastian Lletget started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in West Ham United’s 5-0 loss vs. Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

ITALY

  • Michael Bradley dressed but did not play in AS Roma’s 3-0 loss vs. Juventus on Sunday.

FRANCE

Coupe de France

  • Alejandro Bedoya dressed but did not play in FC Nantes’ 2-0 loss vs. Nice on Sunday.

MEXICO

  • DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 2-2 draw vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
  • Michael Orozco dressed but did not play for Puebla.
  • Jose Torres did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 3-0 loss vs. Club America on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Atlante’s 1-1 draw vs. Club Leon on Sunday.
  • Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 0-0 draw vs. Atlas on Saturday.
  • Herculez Gomez started and played 90 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Joe Corona started and played 71 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Edgar Castillo came off the bench and played 19 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 0-0 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.

—–

What do you think of these performances? Do you see Altidore having a better a second half this season? Should Roma have started Bradley vs. Juventus?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I don’t know who else watched the Forrest/West Ham game but I really thought Lichaj looked really solid against a B-squad premier team. Granted he missed a pretty great chance to convert with just the keeper to beat, but his overlaps & ball control were both strong and, most importantly, he played a helluva solid game of defense.

    Mind you, all of this was at LB, a position that I think DMB has shown we’ll need to shore up. Being realistic I’m not sure he has a shot at Brazil any longer, but he made some really nice stops at a position in great need for us.

    Thoughts?

    Reply
  2. Roker Report had this to say about Jozy’s performance. Jozy Altidore – 6

    The appalling abuse thrown at him makes me root for him. His confidence is nearly at zero and it’s painful to watch at times as he fails to control or convert anything. In the second half he livened up and his link up with Ba for the goal, and Watmore in a previous move, shows what he could offer if we ever get anyone to play close enough to him.

    Reply
  3. Jozy’s assist is only consolidation for a very poor performance by him. While he’s racking up assists (first in the team), he’s not scoring even with quality chances. He needs to find confidence again. Sunderland supporters ripped him a new one in social media after the game.

    Klinsi, offer your starting striker a shoulder please.

    Reply
    • I can’t see why they don’t try dropping him in underneath Fletcher. Seems like Jozy is better on the ball and could play as more of a creator, that the team seems to lack at the moment anyway.

      Reply
    • Rock/Boyd: clever comments, but not really true (for those listed here).

      STARTED (10—plus 3 more* below):
      Clint Dempsey
      Jozy Altidore .
      Geoff Cameron
      Tim Ream
      Eric Lichaj
      Sebastian Lletget
      DaMarcus Beasley
      Greg Garza
      Herculez Gomez
      Joe Corona

      SUBBED IN (3):
      Danny Williams*
      Duane Holmes
      Edgar Castillo
      * regular starter in league matches but not in these “Open Cup” matches

      DRESSED BUT DID NOT PLAY (10*—but really only 7):
      Tim Howard*
      Brad Guzan*
      Alejandro Bedoya*
      Brad Friedel
      Zak Whitbread
      Oguchi Onyewu
      Gboly Ariyibi
      Michael Bradley
      Michael Orozco
      Paul Arriola
      * regular starters in league matches but not in these “Open Cup” matches

      DID NOT DRESS (4):
      Maurice Edu
      Jose Torres
      Jonathan Bornstein
      Joaquin Alonso Hernandez

      CONTRACTUALLY NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY/DRESS (1):
      Brek Shea

      INJURED (3):
      Cody Cropper
      Jonathan Spector
      Stuart Holden

      So that’s 11 bench/stand warmers, 1 bench warmer on loan, 3 subs, 13 starters, and 3 injured. No majority, and it’s really not disappointing that Friedel is on the bench (at his age) or that Bradley is on the bench (behind a legend on one of the best teams).

      On the other hand, if we actually listed ALL of the United States’ players, then surely there would be be more bench/reserves than starters…because that is true of every team everywhere. In fact, the majority of our players are over 30 and play in Tuesday night rec leagues.

      Reply
      • If you want to be taken seriously you need to check your numbers. Unless you’re fudging them on purpose.

      • A) Great job King, nice summary and actually an interesting summary I wouldn’t mind seeing every week
        B) This is an internet message board, not the WSJ, relax
        C) Boyd is a #$%^

        Yep, I think that sums it up, nice work King

      • Boyd: Feel free to write more than two sentences to defend/explain your comments. Or to point out where you think I erred. Participation is free and we’re not charged by the word.

        Were you confused by my tally of “13 starters”? Did my use of an asterisk throw you?

        I do know of one mistake I made: I wrote after Starters that there were “10—plus 3 more* below.” There were actually 4 more (I originally missed Danny Williams, who regularly starts but was a sub, and forgot to add him to my tally after putting the asterisk next to his name).

      • Boyd, as a Timbers fan, I can only assume that you are the lazy, no good poacher like Kris Boyd was for the Timbers. Therefore, please leave before you curse the Timbers again.

  4. I’m not sure what to make of DMB. Today he continued to get up the flank, combined well by showing as an outlet for the CDM’s and the Left Winger. He never really overlapped and got more advanced than the Winger but he was always in a decent position to attack but … He just didn’t. He never showed any real aggression to be a threat to goal. I can’t remember him putting in one cross (maybe that’s because the Puebla Forwards are midgets). He even had a few dribbling sequences but never made a drive toward goal.

    Maybe his role is attacking support and outlet (pressure valve/possession role) which he plays really well BUT I really wanted him to ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK! Puebla would be so much more dynamic if he would just get after the back line of opposing teams and takes some shots on goal.

    Reply
    • They had three central mids who would spread out wide but there wasn’t wingers. It was 5-3-2, sorta like America and the national team, but not as effective at all.

      Speaking to Beas, he really had a bad game he wasn’t aggressive with bringing the ball forward until late in the game and up until then he was apart a lot of unsuccessful give and goes to get him in the box.

      Idk it might of been tactical decision on the Managers part that he didn’t start surging forward with the ball until the last 10 minutes of the game, but he was pretty invisible in the attack but was decent defensively and and passed the ball positively.

      The problem with the Puebla side is that the forwards were s**t today.

      But I agree with you, he should of done more

      Reply
    • With a new coach one never knows. It ma7y be a half dozen games before he (the coach) settles on a consistent starting XI.

      Reply
    • Saw the first half of the TIJ match. Corona was playing LM in a four man midfield. For the first half TIJ pretty much attacked down the right and Corona would pinch in behind the forwards. He was pretty active and one of the brighter spots for TIJ in the first half. With that said, they did not create much in the way of threatening opportunities. So take that for what it is worth. I think Castillo actually came in to replace Corona later. Garza was at LB. Gomez was pretty much paired with Martinez – who seemed to have license to roam.

      Reply
    • Garza is playing in defense. Since Mohamed left as coach last year, Castillo has been used primarily in midfield. Castillo came on for Corona in the first game. Arriola is also in a fight for minutes with Castillo and Corona.

      Reply
    • TJ’s first game was basically a 4-4-2 with Gomez up top with Martinez. Corona sat behind them in a traditional #10 role. and yes, it would appear Garza has taken Castillo’s spot. but it appears Castillo will be used as a LM/LW under the new coach. as for Arriola, he didn’t get subbed in which was a little disappointing. i think they could have used him.

      we’ll see if this continues though.

      Reply
  5. I really do love this site but this Frank character is turning out to be the best part of the whole deal.

    Who is that guy? He is way too funny for his own good.

    “THANK YOU FOR THE WEBSITE I READ IT FOR SOCCER NEWS”

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAA

    Reply
      • No, far from that age. Very far indeed. That’s a little depressing…

        I just have a lust for life and still enjoy silly things. Plus, his comment is really damn funny! Come on man!! You can’t see it??

      • Lurker here, and I’ve wondered the same thing about your age. Whatever your real age is, you’ve got a youthful exuberance about you that is refreshing, even if it sometimes seems to lead you to extremes of emotion or judgement with which I can’t agree. And though I’m a quieter person than you, I also find FRANK hilarious, which I am really hoping is intentional.

  6. Any news on the Lichaj injury? Hope it wasn’t too serious. And good old Beasley. Not long after an unsure team situation, he starts and goes the distance.

    Reply
    • I did not see any obvious sign of an injury in the way that he walked off, so hopefully it is not too serious and they took him off for precautionary reasons.

      Reply
    • Nothing notable to report on Beasley’s performance, though he was involved in bringing the ball up the field in the last min. of stoppage time, which lead to a scramble and the bad pack pass by a Pumas player to his goalie, who then gave away a penalty to tie the game.

      Reply
  7. Silver lining for Bradley, AS Roma may have lost but De Rossi was shown red today which means Bradley is in line for the start next game!

    Reply
      • The “tackle” from DeRossi was a Shame. He went all Brian Mullan on a dude (Chiellini) that went pass him and doled out a little retribution.

        OTOH, Chiellini crossed surprisingly well for a LCB. It was better service than I’ve seen from our LB’s saves for Fabian who is a natural winger/playmaker. Roma also had another player sent off just before DDR’s send off making them play with 9 right after they substituted Totti. Really poor ending to that game.

  8. Also, I think the Pic needs changing. Makes it look like he scored, when he couldn’t when he had 2 good chances too on a league 1 team.

    Speaking of Carlisle, what happened to Frankie Simek??

    Reply

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