Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
Aston Villa has loaned American fullback Eric Lichaj to Leeds United for the next month.
Lichaj had been getting decent minutes at right back for Aston Villa, but manager Gerard Houllier singled him out after the team was dismantled by Manchester City, 4-0, on Dec. 28, and Lichaj hasn't played since. Making matters worse for Lichaj, Aston Villa also brought in England international right back Kyle Walker on loan from Tottenham.
Going on loan is nothing new for Lichaj, who spent most of last season on loan at two lower-tier clubs, Leyton Orient and Lincoln City. At Leeds, he'll compete for a League Championship team with serious promotion aspirations. Leeds has six matches during the span of the loan.
According to Leeds' team Web site, first-choice right back Paul Connolly has a hamstring injury, and Lichaj could be in the squad for the team's game against Bristol City this weekend if all of the paperwork is sorted on time.
What do you think of the move for Lichaj?
Share your thoughts below.
He seems like a decent kid, but if he was yelling at GH then he deserved to be benched. It truly would have been a foolish move on his part. And as far as the England squad not being as good as the US squad?? I am not quite so sure about that, particularly at the fullback position. I will take Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole any day of the week.
I saw one of his games before the 4-0 and he looked great.
GO LICHAJ! (typed with Spartan Will Ferrell enthusiasm)
He needs time and if he can’t get into the team for whatever reason this is a good place to be. Leeds also has Mike Grella and Davide Somma who are from/have ties to the US so I think Grayson has a feel for the american player. As far as Villa’s mgr I think he needed to make an example of someone after that beating and Eric was the guy. If i am not mistaken Cuellar, Clarke, Dunne, Albrighton, etc… all played in that match. The entire back 4 and central mids had a bad game. But the game before Eric worked a great shift vs. Spurs and nothing was said from the mgr that i call recall. I think this came down to the need to make someone and example but at the same time not rock the apple cart to much. Eric Lichaj is your guy when you look at the big picture in IMO. I am not sure that Walker is that much better but i am not the mgr.
Omar, it is not as simple as a manager having better options. In a matter of a single game, Lichaj went from a starter to not even making a bench in any of the subsequent games. And that happened without Lichaj making any disparaging statements to the mass media or challenging his manager in public. Houllier is a manager who has a history of feuding with his players. If I recall correctly, he publicly called Ginola a “criminal” and a “murderer” after Ginola failed to complete a pass to his teammate in a loosing effort for a French national team. I am not siding with Ginola against Houllier, but just making a point that Houllier has a history of singling out a player as a scapegoat for a deafeat and holding a grudge against him for a long time.
Well said. Some are confusing a coach’s evaluative decisions with personal bias.
True and the game before Walker was abused, but lucky him he got a second chance.
Honestly the English squad is not as good as the US squad so I wouldn’t put much stock into that.
Apparently after the match there was talk about a big screaming match between Houllier, Lichaj and Albrighton. Lichaj and Albrighton really layed into him.
kyle walker promptly scored and was named in the England squad. Not sure Lichaj would get into the England squad.
I agree, still very young with a high ceiling. Following him the last few years, I think it’s hard not to be pleased with his development. If he’s in the Leeds starting XI for the duration of his loan, I don’t think anyone can be displeased with it.
I agree it’s a little over the top, but I do think certain nationalities are more acceptable than others. Certain nationalities allow their players to be more “Teflon” like in that terrible games don’t stick to them.
For example, Michael Dawson had an absolute shocker against Fulham. He was pretty directly responsible for two goals and got himself sent off. In the first 20 minutes or so! Michael Dawson was criticized by his manager, but he is never going to be sent to Harry’s doghouse. He’s a good player, looks great in the armband, and is English, which means he’ll get more chances.
Contrast that with Pavlyuchenko. Pav, for me, is clearly more talented than Crouch and has a better scoring record (I believe, I may be wrong). Yet, Pav can’t get out of Harry’s doghouse for the life of him. No matter how many Bale crosses Crouch fluffs, Crouch is preferred.
This is a topic that needs a more thorough examination than this comment forum provides, I know. I wouldn’t say it’s all nationality, but it’s hard to ignore that nationality plays some role.
Lichaj was screaming at Houllier?
Lichaj was scapegoated. I watched that game. He had a poor game. Was he markedly worse than the other defenders? Not in my opinion. But rather than blame the whole back four, Houlier for some reason, found it necessary to single out the young American right back who is still trying to permanently break into the team rather than go after the entire defense, which was a shambles, and the central midfield play, which was nonexistent.
This happens all over the world. Coaches don’nt want to single out players they’re going to really need (Collins, Cuellar, etc). Is it because he’s american that Houlier exiled him? I doubt it, but it’s certainly an unfair scapegoating, in my opinion.
Love this move. Plus Houiller will be gone soon enough. Even Phil Brown could manage a side with Villa’s talent to the top half of the table.
Houllier is a pimp. He brings in Kyle Walker who is no better than Lichaj to further help develop another teams player. This has to do with Lichaj and his team mate screeming at Houllier after the game. The only way for the frenchman to save face was to make an example of him. I believe Albright ? the other player involve has too much clout to be thrown uder the bus.
This whole idea of coaches hating Americans when they don’t play them is getting quite tiresome. You don’t think there’s better options out there outside of our American players? Houllier can put anyone in the doghouse if he wants, and it so happens to be Lichaj this time around. Move on people.
By calling Lichaj a “nightmare” without recognizing the fact that the rest of the defense was just as dreadful, if not worse, and not only benching him but actually replacing him by seeking out a loan player, yes, Houllier was absolutely singling him out. How can anyone even consider(let alone reach) any other conclusion?
People need to take it easy. Houllier decided that Lichaj isn’t ready to be a full-time starter in the EPL. What on Earth is wrong with that? Houllier is the same guy who showed faith in Lichaj to begin with. (O’Neill did NOT.) Lichaj still has a future with Villa.
And this situation is not comparable to Bradley’s. They’re different players at different positions at different stages of their development.
The notion of a vendetta is ridiculous. Lichaj is not ready for major EPL minutes and Aston Villa is in no position to take gambles on completely unproven commodities. A good championship side seems ride where he belongs at this point in his career. Last thing I want to see his for Lichaj to lose confidence because of getting abused in the EPL. And people need to stop calling Gareth Bale the best left sided midfielder in the world. A handful of good games does not a career make.
And the owners are American
Nice..I hope they get promoted and he has something to do with it. That way he can stay with Leeds, a prestigious club mind you, and play in the PL next year.
I honestly think Houlier is using him as a scapegoat for that dreadful performance against City by the whole defense since he is American and not established in the PL. I know it sucks but that happens to be the case a lot. That’s why Americans’ transfer fees are always low.
Best case scenario: he goes to Leeds, gets into the lineup because of said injury, plays for a month and is then loaned to a Scandanavian league for the rest of the season, whose windows, I believe, are open through March.
Worst case scenario: doesn’t play at Leeds, goes back to Villa to sit on the bench, which he would’ve done anyway.
Seems like nothing but upside, no?
After MON left, the caretaker manager (don’t remember his name) was the guy who had managed the AV reserves/youth team. He gave Lichaj and a few others a run of games. When Houllier was hired he stuck with what was already in place and played Lichaj from time to time. All was good until the Man City game…
I don’t think Houllier is anti-American; just a bad manager of personnel (can’t comment on his tactical ability).
It’s been known to happen with other coaches, leagues and players. If a coach does not like you, you’re screwed.
So the answer to your question is “Yes, absolutely.”
Does any of us know for sure? Probably not. Is it plausible? Certainly.
Good move. Big club, chance of promotion and long-term deal. The kid is young, he just needs to play, and keep his hair gelled.
It’s a good move, and it could be an even better one if Leeds is pleased enough to seek a more permanent move or even an extension. Leeds could be a great place to land. Lichaj has the ability to grow with the team even if Leeds gains promotion. Leeds might end up being a fixture in the EPL, and it would be great to see Americans like Lichaj or Grella go with them.
I heard he’s 22.
Love it.
Yeah, I wasn’t talking about reserves. According to Wikapedia he didn’t make his competative debut until August 19th which was 10 days after O’Neils resignation. And he didn’t appear in the Premier League until November. So Houllier didn’t give him his competative debut, I suppose that was the interim manager, but he did give him his first minutes in the Premier League.
No. In fact, O’Neil gave him minutes in the reserves and included him in the squad for a few Europa League ties two seasons ago.
He’s 20, maybe 21, calm down. He seems like a hard worker. He’ll do what it takes to get back in the squad.
Wasn’t Houllier the one who started giving Lichaj minutes in the first place? So it turned out he doesn’t think he is ready for regular Prem time after giving him a couple run outs. He can’t be in the doghouse to bad if Houlier is at least willing to send him out on loan. He could have just let him rot on the reserves.
pretty silly assertion, Pete.
An American keeper he inherited and who still puts the bacon on the table. An American keeper he sent packing once before, who promptly emerged as an extremely good PL option.
That, along with the sheer inappropriateness of putting a drubbing on one (*any one*) player, followed by the doghouse, certainly has a smell to it.
Sense.
Houllier is not an American hater. He is in full on save my own bootie mode. His comments were accurate on the night (and possibly foolish), but if the mob were standing at your door with pitchforks the next morning would you rely on a player who you feel is a nice project player but a liability to your cause, or do you sit him?
That said, lichaj is about as deadpan levelheaded as they come and will be fine. Is Leeds in need of a right back thru injury or their own doghouse? Seems like a decent landing spot and commensurate with his development vs previous loans.
He has FOUR Americans currently on the books…
The whole idea of Houllier as an American hater is just silly. If he was an American hater, why would he have an American goalkeeper and why would he have gone out of his way to make one of his key pickups an American midfielder? You may or may not like him as a coach, but let’s put that ridiculous assertion to rest.
I think the month-long loan has more to do with the transfer window being closed; I believe it qualifies as an “emergency” loan and they are limited on the amount of time the player can spend at the club.
Either way, playing time is always a good thing – and the championship is a solid league.
he hasn’t even been dressing since that game. and this was one whole week after he absolutely shut down gareth bale the “best left winger is Europe” as many people began to call him. houllier was just embarrassed they got spanked by city(though city has done this to many sides sitting near villa in the table) and looked for a scapegoat and can’t just reverse that decision now. he’s too stubborn for that
Maybe the coach thinks he has better options? That’s not a vendetta, it’s a manager deciding to put out what he thinks is his best team — whether you might agree with it or not. Seems pretty normal to me. I’m no huge Houllier fan, but the outcry over this has been a bit funny. Do you really think Houllier would bench Lichaj out of spite while viewing Lichaj to be better than his other options?
finally he’s out of the dog house. houllier needs to watch and wise up and get him back in the lineup. i think he has a great skill set and with some improvement is going to be a great right back for the US
im excited for Lichaj he needed to get away from that American hater Houllier. I’m just worried about Bradley falling victim to this same fate though.
Interesting that the loan is only for a month. Does this suggest that Houllier wants him available for cover? Hopefully Lichaj will get some good playing time and be able to show his value and continue to improve. If he can’t get more playing time with AV I agree he should try to find another club where he can, either in the EPL or Championship in the summer.
If there is no ‘vendetta’ then why has he not seen a minute of playing time since Man City?
A reporter asked Houllier about Lichaj after the Manchester City game and Houllier said he’d had a “nightmare” (which he definitely had that night). Not sure his lack of playing time is a result of Houllier “singling out” Lichaj for some wacky, no-good reason. He’s had some good games and some bad games this year. I don’t think it’s the vendetta some US fans are making it out to be.
That being said, I hope he gets lots of minutes at Leeds.
i think it’s good. frankly i was getting tired of seeing Lichaj did not dress in Aston Villa’s loss…
it’s a good fit
Glad to hear it. What’s going on with Bradley?
He needs to move somewhere permanently in the summer. He has had enough time at AV. He should be playing regularly now in either the PL or League Championship.