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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Andy Johnson of QPR and Tim Ream of Bolton Wanderers

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Tim Ream has had his share of rough days since moving over to Europe, but Saturday was not one of them.

Ream made his first appearance for Bolton Wanderers in the new Championship season this weekend, earning a start in central midfield in the club’s 1-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers. Ream reportedly fared well during the 72 minutes that he was on the field (before a hamstring knock forced him to be substituted), and the outing should serve as a boost in confidence for the 25-year-old defender.

Michael Orozco was the lone American abroad to score this weekend, as he netted the opener in Puebla’s 2-1 defeat to Cruz Azul on Sunday. Orozco buried his first of the season with a well-taken header in the first half, latching onto a free kick and snapping the ball down and into the back of the net.

It was not all good news from an individual standpoint, however. John Anthony Brooks lasted just 23 minutes in Hertha Berlin’s 1-0 win vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday before being removed for tactical reasons. Initially it was thought that Brooks had suffered a knock, but head coach Jos Luhukay indicated otherwise to Hertha Berlin’s official website.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

Premiership

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton’s 0-0 draw vs. West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
  • Jozy Altidore started and played 90 minutes in Sunderland’s 1-1 draw vs. Southampton on Saturday.
  • Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 2-1 win vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
  • Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City. He is recovering from a sports hernia.
  • Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Brad Guzan started and played 90 minutes in Aston Villa’s 1-0 loss vs. Liverpool on Saturday.
  • Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 win vs. Swansea City on Sunday.

Championship

  • Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 3-2 loss vs. Leicester City on Saturday.
  • Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a leg injury.
  • Tim Ream started and played 72 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 1-0 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Leicester City’s 3-2 win vs. Birmingham City on Saturday.
  • Eric Lichaj started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw vs. Watford on Sunday.
  • Danny Williams came off the bench and played eight minutes in Reading’s 1-0 loss vs. Blackpool on Saturday.

ITALY

  • Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in AS Roma’s 2-0 win vs. Livorno on Sunday.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 3-3 draw vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
  • Joe Gyau did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
  • Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg’s 2-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
  • Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 2-1 win vs. VfB Stuttgart on Sunday.
  • Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04’s 2-1 loss vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday.
  • Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96′s 2-1 win vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • John Anthony Brooks started and played 23 minutes before being subbed off with an injury in Hertha Berlin’s 1-0 win vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.

2. Bundesliga

  • Alfredo Morales started and played 76 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 3-2 win vs. Arminia Bielefeld on Friday.
  • Andrew Wooten dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern’s 4-0 loss vs. VfR Aalen on Saturday.
  • Bobby Wood started and played 58 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 1-0 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Sunday.

FRANCE

  • Alejandro Bedoya started and played 90 minites in FC Nantes’ 2-1 loss vs. Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Aron Johannsson started and played 90 minutes in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-0 loss vs. FC Utrecht on Sunday.

RUSSIA

  • Eugene Starikov started and played 63 minutes in FK Tom’ Tomsk’s 2-1 loss vs. CSKA Moscow on Saturday.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht’s 5-2 win vs. Royal Charleroi SC on Sunday.

DENMARK

  • Conor O’Brien started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-0 loss vs. Odense BK on Sunday.

AUSTRIA

  • Terrence Boyd did not dress in Rapid Vienna’s 1-0 loss vs. SV Grodig on Sunday.  He is recovering from a shoulder injury.

SWEDEN

  • Brian Span and Djurgarden IF play Syrianska FC on Monday.

NORWAY

  • Mix Diskerud came off the bench and played six minutes in Rosenborg BK’s 3-2 win vs. Sandnes Ulf on Sunday.
  • Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 5-2 loss vs. Stromsgodset on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Ethan Horvath did not dress for Molde FK.
  • Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK’s 3-1 win vs. Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday.

MEXICO

  • Michael Orozco started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Puebla’s 2-1 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Sunday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_xYAcpT3yU?feature=player_detailpage]

  • DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes for Puebla.
  • Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-2 draw vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
  • Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 1-1 draw vs. Santos Laguna on Friday.
  • Joe Corona dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Greg Garza dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola came off the bench and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Herculez Gomez did not dress for Club Tijuana. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Joaquin Alonso Hernandez dressed but did not play in Monterrey’s 3-1 loss vs. Club Leon on Saturday.

BRAZIL

  • Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 2-0 win vs. Nautico on Sunday.

—–

What do you think of these performances? Think Ream is set for a string of strong performances? Do you see Orozco earning a call-up for the USMNT’s World Cup qualifiers next month?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • I caught most of it. Bradley was typical MB90. Running and linking up well with backs and forwards. Roma looked pretty good at times, but a bit unsure in the final third. They sold Osvaldo and Lamela (today) so they started Borriello who can kill any attack.

      Strootman is hurt right now.

      Reply
  1. Is Tim Ream the new Jonathan Spector? Switching from defender to central midfield the season prior to a world cup is pretty similar.

    Reply
  2. Good to see so many of the Yanks going the distance with their clubs.
    Only concerned really with a handful of players (Parkhurst & Corona) who DNP/DND, and Mixx & Williams who only saw mop-up minutes. Otherwise looking forward to the remaining injured players rounding back into health and getting minutes when they return.

    Reply
      • ha-ha. true.

        Klinsmann calledin Parkhurst in May-June for the WCQs although he had not been playing and then again for the Gold Cup, which destroyed his chance to train with Augsburg in pre-season in an attempt to win a spot on the game day rosters. If Klinsmann was trying to help Parkhurst at his club it backfired big time. Of course, it is possible Klinsmann was gifting Parkhurst playing time while ignoring Lichah as a personal favor to Parkhurst to help him get a transfer.

    • more like punish us as USMNT fans as he consistently picks the Irishman for squads over the Pole Eric Lichaj who is starting, playing 90 and his team is still unbeaten after 4 games while only conceding one goal..

      Reply
      • I don’t understand why you made a point of highlighting each player’s ethnic background when it seemingly bears absolutely no relevance to your point whatsoever.

      • Why include the Irishman/Pole stuff. You have no clue as to how JK feels about each player. All you know is whether or not he selects them to play. Some people in this world are able to set aside personal biases and simply do what’s best for the organization.

        While I would like to see Lichaj called in and Parkhurst left out, I have learned to trust JK. I believe he knew what was best for Jozy, MB, etc.. I’m not giving him credit for their growth as players, but I he understood where they were at that point in time, and made the decision that was best for them going forward.

      • Klinsi also introduced the world to a real Pole – Podolski. No need to toss nationalities about. He also plays Sascha so there goes your conspiracy theory.

      • Podolski was well known to the world before JK, so that is rather silly and they both disliked each other in the end… it is also known that JK does not get on well with Poles… several Germans have said this in the past…

        There is simply no reason Lichaj is not getting a look unless it is a personal thing JK has against him.

        I just have the stones to say the truth..

      • Podolski barely played for the national team until Klinsi made him a starter alongside Klose (another Pole). It was Podolski’s 2006 World Cup that turned him into a star.

        The point I tried to make was that Klinsi plays Poles and has done so. Lichaj not playing has nothing to do with that.

      • Andy… not this again. I can’t help wondering how you account for Wondo and the opportunities he’s had? Perhaps Klinsman has a love for Native Americans that over rides his antipathy for Poles? Or maybe a bias against Germans is clouding your thinking? I’ll just say this… when you find that your perception of a situation is completely at odds with everyone else, there are 2 distinct possibilities. One… that you have unique insight that no one else possesses, or two…. you are simply wrong. Maybe the stones you speak of are in your head?

  3. At first I couldn’t figure out why a team would sub out a centerback after 23 minutes for ‘tactical reasons,’ but after following that link, now I understand perfectly!

    … Warten Sie, iche spreche kein Deutsch.

    Reply
    • I think Artie was being sarcastic saying now he understands perfectly. He expected the link to provide clarification and then it was in German and he was left just as clueless as before he clicked it. I do speak German, here’s what the article had to say (in my words):

      “the surprisingly early substitution of ‘Jay’ Brooks was for tactical reasons, “The team needed Peter today, who with his approach, motivation, and corrections gave more surety and safety to the backline. That’s the reason for the change.”

      Reply
      • Bingo, script. I know I could’ve used the translate button, but I figured it would be more fun to complain and translate my English into German. Thank you for your help on the real translation, though.

      • I find it odd that he was pulled. JAB was having his customary game, but yet the coach decided to make a change. The coach knows what he gets with JAB and if he wanted something else he shouldn’t have played him to beign with and not having to burn a sub. This is smell fishy, specially the timing of this “deficiency” coming up right after his Bosnia game.

    • The live game commentary from the Hertha Berlin vs HSV game on the Bundesliga.de Web site says that the initial word from the sideline was that Brooks was pulled because of thigh problems that he has had in the past. If you go to the game report at the link below and click on “Ticker” you can see at the injury description at the 27th minute. Of course, maybe Bundesliga.de got it wrong and Brooks was pulled because he was having a bad game. I did not see the game.

      http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga/matches/2013/index.php?bmi=145188&reiter=b&tag=3

      Reply
  4. Sunderland is a poor team I don’t understand why Altidore landed with that team. Why didn’t he get picked up by Tottenham? Everton? New Castle United? is beyond me!

    Reply
    • Relax. They have 9 new players and will probably add at least one more. They will take some time to gel. They dominated Fulham last week but were unlucky.

      Reply
    • it is like Groundhog Day, isn’t it? if his style of play can’t even get love from a brazilian team, there’s really no hope

      Reply
    • Just finished watching the dvr of that game and wow! AB had a heck of a match for Nantes. I’d be surprised if he isnt MOTM for them. He played all over the field from left back to right back to midfield. He was incredibly industrious. At one point he was inches away from a headed goal and seconds later was racing back to the other end of the pitch to break up a dangerous PSG break at the touch line. He was unlucky not to garner an assist as he sent in Bessat beautifully 1 v 1 but Bessat’s first touch let him down. Almost every touch was clean and smart and he didn’t look at all out of place in the highly skilled Ligue 1. I’m very impressed! I thought he might be over his head here but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. The speed of play seems no problem even though it’s only his second match. You could tell that he was anticipating his first touch before he got the ball and pushing it into open space or quickly one touching it.

      Reply
    • He could be a potential 3rd keeper for us if he continues to play week after week what I love about the kid is he’s 6-3 that’s a perfect height for a keeper and how great would it be that a born mexican plays for the USMNT.

      Reply
    • Although he is not an American abroad, I wonder if Dan Kennedy of Chivas USA has been given consideration. I think he is at least as good as Hamid and Johnson.

      Reply
  5. 1 – Tim Ream should have been playing next to Stu Holden in that Bolton lineup…still upset about that. Get better Stu!
    2 – We have a lot of players going 90 minutes in top leagues… that’s good news
    3 – I feel like Freddy Adu and Johnny Bornstein should start a band named “Did not dress”

    Reply
  6. How serious is John Anthony Brooks’ injury?

    What does it mean for their respective national team careers that Arriola is playing more and better than Corona for Tijuana?

    Reply
    • I came across a mexican link that was linking corona to some championship/dutch side before the window closes. Will look for it. I think Arreola is becoming Jack Mac 2.0 if he keeps at it.

      Reply
      • Noooooo, Arriola is much more of a skilled, creative player. He could play a number ten, a withdrawn striker or either wing. JackMac is a pure nose for goal garbageman type striker a la Wondo, Twellman, Herc, etc. He makes great runs and looks for service while PA can create his own shot and shots for others.

  7. Jozy doesn’t have service
    He can score very easily with decent service
    He went to sunderland to challenge himself against better defense and lack of service
    Jozy will be fine
    I spoke with him a PDC at dinner tonight

    Reply
  8. Where’s Gooch? Did I miss him?
    Also, for the past three seasons Bornstei has played like 7 games. The rest “Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.” Does he still get paid? Why not push for a move so be can get minutes?

    Reply
    • Gooch saw a doctor about his knee without Sporting’s permission. That gave Sporting a reason to cancel his contract because unfortunately, Gooch is now injury prone.

      Gooch has been linked with MLS. He specifically mentioned DC. As a DC fan, he can’t be worse than what we already have! Though we aren’t spending anything close to DP money on him. $200k please!

      Reply
  9. For the love of Pete, his name is simply Michael Orozco! Surely this site understands Hispanic surname conventions. Fiscal is his mother’s maiden name. His “last” name is Orozco.

    Reply
    • I always thought this was kinda weird. In any event, I really like this guy. I thought he played extremely well during the Gold Cup. Hopefully he’s called up against CR and Mexico. BTW, why is the US typically the last team to announce the roster???

      Reply
  10. There are rumors floating amongst Sunderland supporters that Sessegnon is on his way out. He and PDC don’t see eye-to-eye and he is supposedly in talks with a Qatari club. There is even some talks that Sessegnon does not like Jozy and pretty much refuses to communicate with him on the pitch.

    Reply
    • Sess has been rumored to be on the way out forever. This is nothing new. Nothing to do with Jozy. Sess just doesn’t play like PDC wants. He tends to drift in and out of games, mostly out, and shies away from contact.

      Reply
      • only those who who are foolish enough to believe that having MB and Altidore playing together will have a magical effect on their USMNT success…..or, those who don’t have BeIn Sport, so they can’t watch Serie A.

  11. Jozy Watch: Week Two

    1. Jozy is Dempsey 2.0 with his falling down. Just because you get hit, can fall, may get a foul, doesn’t mean you go to ground. Getting a foul isn’t always what’s best.

    2. Jozy looked very disinterested in the second half. You can’t do that in the EPL on a team like Sunderland who’ll be chasing games all season.

    3. When Jozy does have the ball, you can tell he understands his position a lot better than before. His awareness is great when he’s focused.

    4. The complaint most people have about strikers from the Dutch league is that they play slow due to the slow defenses. Jozy needs to speed up his play a bit.

    Not the worst performer on the pitch, but as the striker on a team needing goals, he needs to start putting chances away. With Fletcher due back soon and Ji looking lively, he has to create magic. Sunderland also needs A. a midfielder and B. to learn, as a team, how to pass.

    Reply
    • You and I are just not going to see eye to eye on this, Josh.

      1. Neither Jozy or Deuce is a diver by any stretch of the imagination. Every striker is going to go to ground easily on occasion, but by no means are Jozy and Deuce as bad as most strikers. Could they be better at picking their spots and simulating more dramatically, yes, but they don’t because it’s not really their style. That being said, Jozy was abused by the referee on Sunday. He was constantly getting fouled with no call and when he tried to use his muscle, the whistle immediately came out. I thought he may have gone down too easily on one occasion at the end, but they didn’t show the replay so you couldn’t tell how badly he was hit.

      2. There are few comments I find more useless and lazy than the, “he looks disinterested.” spiiel. I find it completely insipid. What are you, a renowned expert on body language? The kid busted his butt all game, got beat on and gave it back all game, and ran all over the pitch but you think he was disinterested because the camera caught him frowning a couple times? It’s ridiculous. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Not trying to be insulting. I realize a lot of people use it, but I find it absurd. I think the last thing any of these players are is disinterested.

      As far as the rest, we all have to relax. This is is second game. Of course he has to adjust to the speed of the fastest paced league in the world, especially when he plays for a club that is comprised of many new players who haven’t gelled yet. Ji is no threat to Jozy’s job, he’s a threat to Sessegnon’s job.

      Reply
      • I agree about how people commonly misuse “he looks disinterested.” I didn’t see Jozy’s game so I can’t comment on this particular instance – however… in general I think it’s a misunderstanding. Strikers often attempt to lull the players defending them into a false sense of security by appearing to be detached and then quickly switching on to take advantage.

      • Well put TomG.

        Everyone seems to be forgetting that Sunderland spent the whole game protecting a lead on the road. Jozy was smart enough to stay on the ground wasting time a few times that was again blasted by an opponent.

        Time for everyone to take a breath. They’ll play differently when they are chasing goals.

      • Dempsey dives anytime he gets remotely touched. It’s embarrassing. I saw him live when the us played Germany and It was so bad this one time I felt the need to apologize to the German fans behind me

      • TomG,

        Not a problem on disagreeing. You’re one of the regulars here who brings a good perspective. I’ll look forward to our debates!

        1. I never said either are divers. I said both go down easily. There’s a difference between a diver (one who falls down without contact) and someone who goes down easily (I got touched so now I can earn a foul). Dempsey is very much like the later, and whether by tactics or reaction, Jozy was doing that on Saturday. Yes, it is a fair tactic. However, there were times when I felt Jozy should have stayed up and fought his way through. I praised him for doing that the previous week. This week, when the going is tough, he needed to work harder to stay with the ball – in my opinion.

        2. You don’t have to have a doctorate on body language to see that Jozy was disinterested. I don’t think he’s lazy, but I do think that when Jozy gets frustrated, he stops making his runs and stops chasing down balls. He let’s the game go a little by him. That’s what I mean by disinterested. Not that he is bored or wants a little sit down. But that due to frustration, he stops putting in that final 10% to win balls. He deserved to get frustrated, but like I said: that’s going to happen more times than not. Like Fletcher, he needs to pick himself up and keep going to goal until he puts one away for his team. If his team aren’t going to lead, Jozy has to.

        Ji started off as a striker, so I’d toss him as one of Jozy’s competitors. I do agree that he has been playing Sessegnon’s position when he has come on. But I think long-term, they’ll look for an attacking midfielder to play that role. Or Fletcher.

      • To me, saying a player is disinterested is extremely disrespectful, espectially when that player is clearly busting his hump for all 90 minutes in a very physical environment. I don’t know if you are saying disinterested just because you’ve heard others use it and you really mean something else, but to me, saying Jozy is disinterested is way beyond the pale and incredibly disrespectful. I assure you that the last thing PDC would put up with from any of his players is any bit of the least signs of lack of effort. Jozy would have been off at the half. Instead, he played 90 in both matches for a manager who is notorious for demanding his players to leave every last ounce of energy on the pitch. His previous manager, Verbeek was the same way so I think it’s very safe to say that you are way, way, way off in your assessment. I think fans are far too quick to cast aspersions on the effort and character of players and it’s extremely disrespectful. I know I’ve repeated that term over and again but it seems the only one that fits. I would like to call for more respect in our commenters. I’m as guilty as any of crossing the line at times in the heat of emotion, but I am trying to be better. I find the character attacks not only upsetting and unnecessary but really pretty stupid when you think about it. We have no idea what’s going on in these players minds or hearts. Do some players have better work rates than others? Of course they do. Some players are fitter than other. Some players also get nicked up and that affects their work rate tomporarily. It is fine IMO to comment that a player did have a good work rate on the day, but to claim they are lazy or disinterested is ridiculous, unnecessary and insulting in my opinion, and it’s a huge pet peeve for me.

      • I don’t see it as disrespect. It’s a legitimate comment that others have said, too. I’ve used the term for a year to describe some of Jozy’s performances so I can’t say that I say it because someone else does. And I choose to use that word instead of something like slacker or lazy.

        It’s hard to disrespect someone when A. it’s not directed at them, but on a blog I’m quite sure he doesn’t feel the need to read. And B. I can comment on his performance without commenting on his character as a person. Beyond not putting his hand on his heart during the national anthem, I have absolutely no problem with Jozy and think he’s a stand up representation of a US player.

        I’ll continue using disinterested when I feel he has been. And I do think that if Sunderland had a decent striker on their bench, they would have put him on the pitch. If Fletcher was on the bench, I think we would have seen a swap. As it stands, Sunderland have a terrible bench and no one is as good as Jozy. Doesn’t mean Jozy couldn’t improve his own performance.

    • About two weeks ago Altidore scored a hat trick and had an assist against Bosnia in Sarajevo. Bosnia has not lost a home game in like forever and I think they have given up only 2 goals in qualifying. He outplayed Dzeko. So, you think that Altidore has gone from being a top international to one being disinterested and being unable to cope with the speed of play in the last 2 weeks?

      Reply
      • I commented on this game. Last week I said he was the best player on the pitch. You can’t take a whole season in two games. Much like you can’t rest on a game that happened three weeks ago, on a different team.

        Next week, Jozy could score six and I’ll say he’s played well. Then he can go on a ten game drought and I’ll say each week he’s played poor.

    • I didn’t think Jozy went to ground too easily (or more than any other striker in the same situation would have). Every time he touched the ball that big Portuguese defender hammered him (welcome back to the BPL!) but he was definitely fouled on a few occasions, it was the ref was letting it go at both ends – which is fine as long as the players know what is acceptible. Southampton had two penalty calls waived off by the ref at the other end that could have gone the other way. Then it seemed like every time Jozy touched the ball two defenders converged on him immediately. If this continues, his teammates will figure it out and make runs to the open space. Once that happens they will start scoring – which in turn will open up more space for Jozy. He is going to be fine though I do agree that he kind of seemed dissinterested in the second half though he did have one good scoring chance.

      Reply
  12. Jozy is gonna score next weekend. Once he scores he goes on a goal scoring run. We all know that. Don’t worry. Though perhaps he should have gone to the French or Italian league rather than a return to England

    Reply
    • He needs service. Chris Mavrias gives great service one of Di Canio’s new signings also they have representatives in Roma. So bradley could be a black cat.

      Reply
  13. Really wished Jozy would’ve gone to someone like a Everton or Swansea a place where they try to play more attractive, instead of him chasing a ball 90 minutes.

    Reply
  14. From what I saw Jozy did not have the best of games. I wouldn’t say it was all his fault though. Sunderlands midfield isn’t the best so the service is lacking. Although he did have a few chances but his touch seemed a bit heavy on Saturday.

    I hope he gets a goal soon! We need our key player flying high for the next two qualifiers.

    Reply
    • Jozy seemed to fall over as soon as someone brushed past him. And he kept looking for the call and throwing up his hands. At one point, I yelled get up and play. Not good, but then again, he didn’t get a lot of service and the midfield can’t pass.

      Reply
    • Jozy definitely didn’t have a good game, but was basically completely isolated in the second half. Sunderland’s midfield was absolutely horrific.

      Reply

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