by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Fulham have expressed interest in U.S. national team centerback Oguchi Onyewu.
Onyewu, who is currently in South Africa with the United States for the Confederations Cup, has been linked for weeks with Birmingham City but the Cottagers are now looking to outbid the recently-promoted club for his services.
If Onyewu were to sign with Fulham, he would become the third American international on the squad, joining attackers Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson.
What do you think of Fulham expressing interest in Onyewu? Would Onyewu be a good fit at Fulham? Prefer to see him with a bigger team like Lyon?
Share your thoughts below.
Really not sure why you all seem to think that gooch can’t start in the EPL…he is likely one of the best 30 CBs in the world right now… You all keep thinking about the Ghana match etc… and ignore the Liverpool and Everton matches where he shut some of the best players in the world down… Hangeland is beloved by Fulham and would be hard to replace but honestly…Gooch is not that far off him and is certainly more of a threat on corners than Hangeland who still has not scored on a header for Fulham…
Sublicon…you are clearly listening to people that know nothing…EJ was out on loan to get better which is precisely what he did…EJ runs after the ball now the way McBride always did… He will get his chance with Fulham in the summer to prove his worthiness. They are not ready to give up on him just yet…
Honestly…Jermain Jones is basically Ricardo Clark with about 2 inches more height and a better goal scoring touch… I say let him add depth and if he can start, great.
WHAT!!!
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/9673166/Schalke-midfielder-Jones-wants-to-play-for-US
EJ’s days are numbered in England, methinks. Someone likened his goals for Cardiff last season as “collector’s items”, which I thought was pretty funny.
French, German NO! We need them in the best legues. EPL and La Liga, get a grip
Gooch to France/Germany would work.
Marseille or PSG or Cologne.
Great news for Marcus Hahnemann. He’s a pretty good GK. He was just on a team with lousy defense. If he moved to say Bundesliga or Serie A for even relegation teams, i bet he’d get his credit.
Gooch would probably be a direct replacement for American-born, Norway defender Brede Hangeland. I’d prefer to see Gooch playing in the best league in the world, regardless of the fact that Lyon are a bigger club. Plus Fulham are in the Europa Cup next season. Move makes a lot of sense for me.
I like him going to Fulham only because picturing him and Brede Hangelaand could be really sick looking and solidly strong in the defence.
Then again, he could just be seen as a back up to either hughes or hangeland. I wouldnt like the move too much unless he unseats them. it could be good. It’d be nice to be able to see Onyewu play some pro games and not just nats. they are playing in europe next year so depth is needed for them. But hopefully he goes to start. No one has made Newcastle look good in the passed 5 years, so i wouldnt take any stock from his prior lone move.
I think the question about whether Gooch going to Fulham is a good thing is two-fold a) good club fit? b) good style of play fit? I’ll let the Fulham supporters keep chiming in on the first one but definitely not convinced EPL is right for him in terms of development. I think that’s the bigger issue.
Would rather see him in France or Germany
As a Fulham supporter and a U.S. national fan I say this in all honesty: Hangeland is much better then him and he is not an upgrade over Aaron Hughes. Sorry-but that is the cold truth.
PS- I love Gooch as a person and how he handles himself on the pitch so this is not personal. He is the best central defender we, the U.S., has by leaps and bounds.
I agree with those who say that this only makes sense (for Gooch, anyway) if Hangeland moves on. I can’t see Hangeland getting benched, and Hangeland and Gooch seem like an odd pairing, as they are both, big, strong, defenders who are strong in the air but lack covering speed. Plus we know that Roy doesn’t like to shuffle his lineup.
Fulham’s interest indicates to me that they know something; as good as their defense was last year, you don’t rush to buy a new central defender unless you think somebody will be moving on. If Hangeland IS moving on, then as a Fulham fan and a Gooch fan, I would love to see this happen.
As a Fulham and a Nats fan, I would love to see Gooch with the Whites. I’m assuming Hangeland is going to be sold, so Gooch will get the chance to play right away. The only down side is I won’t get to see Onyewu giving Ronaldo his famous glare the first time he flops after being breathed on.
EJ will be back at Fulham and in the 5 man forward rotation of the squad…what he does from there is up to him. Fulham need depth because the schedule could be very very thick with matches.
EJ is a lot better player now then he was 2 years ago…just needs a chance to show what he learned in England thus far.
Only if my Fulham jersey can fit “Gooooooooooch” on the back.
I’m a Fulham fan, and I like Hangeland, but I think he’s gone in the next ransfer window. And I would love Gooch to become a Cottager, but only ro replace Hangeland, not to compete with him or even play alongside him.
Couple side notes:
1. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Hangeland didn’t get called up for Norway’s recent qualifiers. Is he hurt? Norway’s qualifying campaign has been dreadful and Brede can’t make the team? I don’t get it.
2. @crash2180: Wolves don’t need to buy Hahnemann from Reading. He was released and is without a club right now.
Aaron Hughes is good, but I wouldn’t rate him any higher than Onyewu. And for those who think that Fulham’s defensive record has something to do with the quality of their back line I’d have to disagree. They were well organized, but John Paintsil still sucks and Paul Konchesky’s pretty useless.
Having offended every Fulham fan, I’ll go out on a high note. Hangeland will be gone before July.
Oh wait, that’s not a good thing at all! My bad.
Gooch!!! I think making the starting 11 and doing the job at Fulham would be a (good) challenge for Gooch. Roy is an awesome manager and I expect that would be a great influence.
It is true, however, that Fulham have been quite sound defensively, so I don’t really understand the move. If Gooch could step up his game/speed to the potential Fulham have (EPL top 6?), then he would be an amazing asset for the USA. I don’t remember Fulham last season ever getting as out of shape as the USA started against Honduras. Playing for Fulham would be a great experience for Gooch in my opinion.
But let me suggest something else for the sake of Fulham and the USA: I would suggest that Roy get Tuncay as a central attacking midfielder. He would work fantastically with Dempsey, and that would bring Clint’s game up even further.
Now, I always kind of thought Tuncay looked just a little like Jeff Spicolli. So maybe Dempsey could bring him on a tour of the USA in the off season, show him the beach and the Bay Watch babes. All that would be left is a change in citizenship and a new ruling by FIFA on being able to switch national teams.
Tuncay is better than 10 Cristiano Ronaldos. OK, not literally, but his spirit on the pitch is everything the USA and Fulham need. He plays good too.
Roy is smart, though, and if he wants Gooch I am sure it is an important acquisition.
I think Fulham is a good fit for Gooch, and not just because I’m a fan of the Whites. Gooch is an EXCELLENT defender who belongs on the world stage…and guess who’s coming to dinner next year. Oh yeah, it’s Fulham in Europa League.
If Brede goes, then Gooch starts for sure. If he doesn’t, I think Gooch battles for a starting spot with Hughes and Brede. Yes, he’s that good and you can’t coach 6’4″/210.
Also, how interesting would a 3-5-2 be at Fulham? Put all three bruisers in the back and see what the league does…
Gooch is a monster who will excel with a good defensively minded team like Fulham…or MY name isn’t…
He should go to Fulham, and play along side Hangeland. The twin towers, and those who say he would struggle for playing time, please give me a break, he is better than Hughes.
Love it. As a Fulham fan, for the money he is about the best replacement for Brede Hangeland they are going to find. Brede must be on his way out.
GO GOOCH Fulham is the perfect club for him. They are in Europe next year i think and they are good so he could play and compete against the bigger clubs. GO GOOCH GO