By FRANCO PANIZO
A week after enduring one of his worst performances of the season, Clint Dempsey responded in a big way.
Dempsey lifted Fulham to victory over Bolton Wanderes on Saturday, scoring a goal and assisting on another in the 2-0 affair. Dempsey found the back of the net with a well-placed header before sending Costa Rican teammate Bryan Ruiz in on goal with a nifty pass. Dempsey's goal was his fifth of the season. His assist was his fourth.
Carlos Bocanegra also found the back of the net, but not in the fashion that you might think. A regular set-piece threat, Bocanegra scored the opening goal in Rangers' 2-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle when he made a run from the top of the box and smashed home a volley. The goal was the second this Scottish Premier League campaign for Bocanegra, who went the distance in the match.
It wasn't all about the goal-scorers this weekend.
A day after signing a professional contract with West Ham United, 17-year-old left back Daniel Potts made his debut for the club in a 1-0 triumph against Barnsley. Potts, who is also eligible to play for England, made quite the impression in the game, earning rave reviews for his 90-minute performance from Hammers manager Sam Allardyce and pundits. West Ham fans even booed when it was announced that club captain Kevin Nolan won Man of the Match honors over Potts.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started and played 90 minutes in Everton's 1-1 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes, scored a GOAL and had an ASSIST in Fulham's 2-0 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
https://dailymotion.com/video/xn2anf_fulham-bolton-2-0_sport
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 win vs. Sunderland on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made 5 saves in Aston Villa's 2-0 loss vs. Liverpool on Sunday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 2-0 loss vs. Fulham on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Norwich City's 1-1 draw vs. Everton on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Crystal Palace on Monday.
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 1-0 loss vs. Ipswich Town on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley dressed but did not play in Nottingham Forest's 0-0 draw vs. Bristol City on Saturday.
- Daniel Potts started and played 90 minutes in West Ham United's 1-0 win vs. Barnsley on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United's 2-2 draw vs. Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Walsall's 1-1 draw vs. Chesterfield on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Brentford's 1-1 draw vs. Bury on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
Premier League
- Maurice Edu started and played 45 minutes in Rangers' 2-1 win vs. Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL for Rangers.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nTqBtXygE0?feature=player_embedded]
- Alejandro Bedoya started and played 52 minutes for Rangers.
First Division
- Dominic Cervi and Greenock Morton's match vs. Hamilton Academical on Saturday was postponed due to parts of the field being frozen.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 2-0 win vs. Cagliari on Saturday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04's 5-0 win vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 1-1 draw vs. Kaiserslautern on Sunday.
- Timmy Chandler did not dress in FC Nurnberg's 3-0 win vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. He was serving a suspension for receiving a red card last week.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 3-0 loss vs. FC Nurnberg on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 1-1 draw vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Danny Williams came off the bench and played 24 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday. He is with the U.S. U-23 men's national team.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play St Pauli on Monday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Karlsruher SC's 3-1 loss vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Saturday.
- Edson Buddle did not dress in FC Ingolstadt 04's 1-1 draw vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Friday. He was dismissed from the team until after the winter break.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 3-1 win vs. Karlsruher SC on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Matt Taylor came off the bench and played 1 minute in SC Paderborn 07's 3-2 win vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Friday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 2-1 loss vs. Lyon on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 45 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 2-1 loss vs. NAC Breda on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sporting CP's 1-1 draw vs. Academica de Coimbra.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 3-2 win vs. Lokeren on Sunday.
——–
What do you think of these performances? Like Dempsey's goal or assist more? How impressed are you by Bocanegra's finish? Hoping Potts is called up to a U.S. youth national team camp in the near future?
Share your thoughts below.
I caught the last 20 minutes after Chievo had it well in hand with a 2-0 lead, in that time, MB mostly dropped back to defend with the rest of Chievo, though he did make one nice outlet pass and connected on some other simple passes. At one point on a Gagliari free kick, an opponent ran past him for a free header on goal; it was not clear that man was his responsibility, but it probably would not have hurt if he had tried to track the runner rather than stand and guard the 18. The commentator did say that Chievo had dominated midfield, but the part I saw was mostly about just sitting back and absorbing the late surge by Gagliari.
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Spinning off a tight defender is similar in many sports, some of the techniques are transferable. There is a history of some successful cross-training, the Zen Master for one.
The Bill Walton comment was a metaphor, mate. Bill is my age and lives near by so I know he moves as poorly as I do. However, the image of Bill spinning off a tight defender is still implanted in these eye-balls. Of course I may be wrong, it’s opinion and stated as such. The recent games I watched Jozy didn’t try to spin off a tight defender. That’s not opinion.
Jozy Sucks.
“Potts’ only awkward moment came after the final whistle, when he was confronted in the tunnel by West Ham fan Russell Brand.
‘You’re a chip off the old block,” Brand told him. ‘You were brilliant – I thought you should have got man of the match.” Potts’ response? “That’s Russell Brand …'”
that’s pretty cool. hopefully he wants to play for the US!
Yeah, I’ve since looked it up. AZ stands for Alkmaar Zaanstreek. So calling them AZ Alkmaar is like saying PSG Paris or RSL Salt Lake.
Matt, you know of what you speak. He had a very good game against an onslought from Everton. I kept thinking that Everton would break through…but nothing.
If ever a ‘deserved’ defensive point this game for Norwich was it.
Did anyone see Chievo’s win? I’d like to get some info on how Jr. played.
These past two years Dempsey has been playing great in the EPL for a bottom table team – why hasn’t he moved on? No offers?
I think you’re right. The Dutch guys I know just say “AZ” (ah-zet).
Never seen him before the weekend, but Zak Whitbread played a hell of a game against Everton.
To help him with his stats on offensive rebounds and putbacks?
common sense
Walton was a great COLLEGE center. He was great for like 2 seasons in the NBA and then got injured and was mostly above average. He now has two fused ankles and can barely walk, so I’m sure he can teach Jozy some moves…
You know this based on what?
anyone know what villyan bijev is doing? I know he was loaned out to Fortuna Dusseldorf but I haven’t heard anything about him since
He’d be so much better if could crouch properly in MNT pre match photos…
MISL
Any word on CHARLIE DAVIES, WHERE WILL HE LAND NEXT?????
Isn’t calling AZ “AZ Alkmaar” like calling RSL “RSL Salt Lake”?
I love this time of year, when we start to see cancellations due to “frozen pitch.”
one of the better seasons for americans abroad for sure- proud of the guys abroad
Marco,
The Walton thing is interesting. Getting “open” is essentially the same in all sports where you are being marked.
However, predictability is not a problem in Jozy’s case. His game is not now based primarily on deception and it may never be.
It’s based mostly on power allied with skill, strength and quickness. And he still needs to work on that. Let him get that right before he starts working on something else.
I care little for the Olympics, so I’m all in favor of using roster spots strategically. I know players aren’t cap-tied by playing in the Olympics, but I’d like to think that giving players the opportunity to be Olympians might help us win them later on. Given the habitual US weakness at LB, I think Potts is worth a look, despite his age.
Lol though I agree that bill walton was a great nba center, why would he be helpful in teaching jozy soccer route running?
If anyone is wondering why the top Scottish league is not a good place for young players to develop, you should take a close look tackling and refs reactions to tackles in this video of the Rangers game above.
Of course they’re on top of him. But if he chooses England, which I predict he will, there’s not much anyone can do about it. He’s marginally connected to the U.S., and has lived in England most of his life.
Dempsey is the best American player right now.
I hope Potts is getting calls klinsmann or someone from US soccer.
Nice find. I haven’t seen him play yet but I believe he should be invited to train with the u.s.
Defense usually takes a little longer to gel with one another. Additionally some of the better defenders haven’t played w/ the U-23’s yet…players like Chandler, Danny Williams, Morales, etc… I have faith that by qualification in march thay’ll be much better (even if the Euro players aren’t releast).
Still concerned over Cherundolo’s bench riding. Until Lichaj comes back or unless we move Johnson to LB we still need Dolo getting consistent minutes. The rest of the yanks are looking good. Still need Holden, Lichaj, & Torres back in playing shape, and hopefully Bedoya, Edu, Jozy, & Williams can get more than this past weeks 25 – 50 minutes.
FYI, there is also an american from Chicago area on Dortmund reserves, Oskar Gasecki
I say cap him lol.
what about adam hanley? started for blackburn over the weekend. born in Tennessee, played for wales u19. not tied to a country yet…
Better than John Harkes…
I wish matches on ESPN were covered in Arabic. Damn it’s entertaining!
More on Deuce: http://www.caughtoffside.com/2011/12/18/top-ten-premier-league-unsung-heroes/9/
lol
Bill Walton?
January camp??
Our U-23s are weak on defense, it’s the only area to really be concerned about. Potts may be young but he’s not that much younger than guys like Zarek Valentin. He should get called to a future Olympic camp.
Got to get interested now, wow England still is pushing Cole/Baines. See if he’s willing to attend one of the Olympic camps, maybe.
Sorry but everything about that is wrong. Jozy won’t be st the January camp and having a player from another sport doing the coaching is just absurd. How about learning some moves from Klinsmann, an actual soccer player and coach who played Jozy’s position in his playing days?
Jozy has improved his game at AZ. His runs and one touch game have improved. He has become too predictable though. He needs to hold that tight defender close, spin and go for goal more often to add variety. I’d love to see former NBA center Bill Walton work with him on some back to the goal moves, in January camp.
If he chooses the US over England, maybe.
Dempsey! YuhBoy!
wow…good for Danny Potts! Do we have a future MNT left back?