By FRANCO PANIZO
Tim Howard was putting together the latest in an assembly line of impressive performances in between Everton’s pipes. Then, he made a damning mistake that proved costly.
Howard was beaten at the near post from an almost impossible angle on Sunday, as he anticipated a cross and allowed Aleksandar Kolarov to find the back of the net for the decisive tally in Everton’s 2-0 home loss to Manchester City. Prior to that 60th-minute strike, Howard had come up with a number of timely stops to keep Everton from falling behind. He finished with seven saves in the match, but it all was largely overshadowed by his error in judgement.
Better news was had in Germany on Saturday. Timmy Chandler was removed from Eintracht Frankfurt manager Armin Veh’s dog house by making his season debut in a 1-1 home draw with FC Augsburg. Chandler came off the bench at halftime, and helped keep Augsburg off the board while leaving the door open for a late equalizer from teammate Marco Russ.
There were other noteworthy outings in Europe. Aron Johannsson made good on declaring that he was ready for a start at Werder Bremen, getting the nod and playing 80 minutes in a 1-1 road draw with Hertha Berlin on Friday. Alejandro Bedoya, meanwhile, recovered from his recent injury and was able to chip in with a 26-minute shift in Nantes’ 1-0 triumph over Stade de Reims.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes, and made seven saves in Everton’s 2-0 loss vs. Manchester City on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes, and made four saves in Aston Villa’s 2-1 loss vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
- DeAndre Yedlin did not dress in Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw vs. Leicester City on Saturday.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-1 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 1-1 draw vs. Derby County on Friday.
- Eric Lichaj started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started and played 90 minutes in Reading’s 0-0 draw vs. Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
- Andrija Novakovich did not dress for Reading.
- Tim Ream dressed but did not play in Fulham’s 1-1 draw vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
- Emerson Hyndman did not dress for Fulham.
- Cody Cropper dressed but did not play in Milton Keynes Dons’ 0-0 draw vs. Reading on Saturday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- John Brooks came off the bench and played one minute in Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw vs. Werder Bremen on Friday.
- Fabian Johnson did not dress in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 2-1 loss vs. Mainz on Sunday. He is recovering from a calf injury.
- Timmy Chandler came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.
- Aron Johannsson started and played 80 minutes minutes in Werder Bremen’s 1-1 draw vs. Hertha Berlin on Friday.
- Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 4-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
2. Bundesliga
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in RB Leipzig’s 1-0 loss vs. St Pauli on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Bobby Wood started and played 65 minutes in FC Union Berlin’s 0-0 draw vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Sunday.
- Andrew Wooten started, played 80 minutes, and received a yellow card in SV Sandhausen’s 0-0 draw vs. Heidenheimer SB on Friday.
- Caleb Stanko dressed but did not play in SC Freiburg’s 2-1 win vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.
FRANCE
- Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench and played 26 minutes in FC Nantes’ 1-0 win vs. Stade de Reims on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Rubio Rubin came off the bench and played 13 minutes in FC Utrecht’s 1-1 draw vs. ADO Den Haag on Sunday.
- Desevio Payne did not dress in FC Groningen’s 2-0 win vs. Excelsior on Friday.
NORWAY
- Zarek Valentin started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in FK Bodo/Glimt’s 4-2 win vs. Haugesund on Sunday.
- Danny Cruz dressed but did not play for FK Bodo/Glimt.
- Cole Grossman started, played 90 minutes, and scored a GOAL in Stabaek IF’s 4-2 win vs. Sandefjord on Saturday.
- Ethan Horvath started and played 90 minutes in Molde FK’s 1-0 win vs. Valerenga on Sunday.
- A.J. Soares did not dress in Viking FK’s 1-0 loss vs. Odds BK on Sunday.
- Rhett Bernstein started and played 90 minutes in Mjondalen IF’s 1-0 loss vs. Rosenberg BK on Sunday.
- Erik Hurtado came off the bench and played 58 minutes for Mjondalen IF.
MEXICO
- Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-1 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Friday.
- Paul Arriola came off the bench and played 20 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Alejandro Guido did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Joe Corona started and played 35 minutes in Veracruz’s 3-1 loss vs. Club America on Saturday.
- Greg Garza did not dress in Atlas’ 2-1 loss vs. Toluca on Saturday.
- Jose Torres started and played 61 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 2-1 win vs. Club Tijuana on Friday.
- Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in Monterrey’s 1-1 draw vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
- Ventura Alvarado started and played 90 minutes in Club America’s 3-1 win vs. Veracruz on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein started, played 90 minutes, and received a yellow card in Queretaro’s 4-2 win vs. Cruz Azul on Friday.
- Gabriel Farfan came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 3-1 win vs. Morelia on Saturday.
- Miguel Ibarra came off the bench and played three minutes in Club Leon’s 1-0 win vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday.
- William Yarbrough dressed but did not play for Club Leon.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed or disappointed with Howard’s overall outing vs. Man City? See Chandler reclaiming a starting spot at Eintracht Frankfurt soon?
Share your thoughts below.
Thanks GW for the correction on the Ukraine 14 match. It looked like a formidable side on paper. So Cameron and Brooks made WC 14 and I really liked Gooch but he has never been the same since his injury. It still seems as Castillo has been harshly affected by that play and considering his play since then he deserves another chance
What about Jerome keisewetter. He’s on bundesliga team !?
Can we get Shawn Barry (FSV Frankfurt, 2 Bundesliga) and Alex DeJohn (Start, Norway) some love in this weekly column?
In fairness to Castillo he didn’t get any full 90 min games with the USMNT, even the game with Mexico in Aztecs which we won he left at the half and it was 0-0. Against the Ukraine it was 1-0 and yes a long ball was hit on his side but there were 3 back ( Brooks in his 1st game and Omar) and they should have managed it. I say he should be called back vs Mexico since he knows and plays well in Liga MX
I expect most of the USMNT Mexican contingent to at least be in the squad for the playoff vs Mexico especially Orozco, though I think Cameron will be one of the center backs.
I’d like to see Castillo and Gringo Torres if they are playing well.
Omar didn’t play that match against Ukraine, it was actually Gooch if I’m not mistaken. I believe Dempsey was the only MLS player to go and he might have been on loan at Fulham.
US vs Ukraine 2014
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 20-Geoff Cameron, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-John Brooks, 2-Edgar Castillo (21-Brek Shea, 63); 11-Alejandro Bedoya, 13-Jermaine Jones (14-Danny Williams, 80), 8-Clint Dempsey (capt.), 16-Sacha Kljestan (9-Aron Johannsson, 63), 23-Fabian Johnson;17-Jozy Altidore (19-Juan Agudelo, 85)
Subs Not Used: 4-Jonathan Spector, 6-Alfredo Morales, 12-Brad Guzan, 15-Will Packwood, 18-Terrence Boyd
Bedoya involved in the lone goal Nantes had. Pretty build-up and finish
https://twitter.com/AleBedoya17/status/635779564317360129
good stuff from Ale, is that considered an MLS/hockey style assist? either way good work in pressure.
Why did Corona start but only play 35 minutes? Unreported injury?
tactical change after the PK.
At this point I get more excited about checking in on MLS guys like Lleget and Ethan Finlay to see how they did over the weekend….
Yeah Lleget especially. He’s better than most of the guys referenced above.
Lleget looks to be one of those players that is always at the right place, at the right time.
Excellent point. isn’t there kind of a void/opening at left mid? No one has that locked down anyway.
Assuming he continues to play well, It won’t hurt Lleget that Klinsi lives in LA and regularly attends Galaxy matches.
The first name on the USMNT team sheet for Left Mid is almost certainly
Fabian, unless he is needed more at right or left back.
But depth never hurts.
and looking at the full back pool the answer is almost always yes, he’s needed more at one of those spots.
Geoff Cameron started and played 90
Jonathan Spector started and played 90
Eric Lichaj started, played 90
Danny Williams started and played 90
Alfredo Morales started and played 90
Edgar Castillo started, played 90
Jonathan Bornstein started, played 90
They don’t necessarily have to start but these names should be in USMNT camp.
Cameron, Lichaj, Williams, Morales I can see, the rest I don’t
Agreed. I do have to say, though, Morales gets the benefit of the doubt because he’s still young. He was far from impressive in any of his UMSNT appearances, but it should be said he’s been played as an outside midfielder for all but 1/2 of a match.
Simply playing 90 minutes on a fairly frequent basis abroad is not justification for inclusion in a USNT Camp. The players need to be either a someone who can add to the team or be a prospect for the future.
Castillo has never performed well for the national team.
Spector is always injured when a National Team Camp is called.
Bornstein spent 2+ years riding the pine in Liga MX and now people are calling for him to be back with the USMNT…Really?
Up until the start of this years Bundesliga Both Brooks & Chandler were 90 minute players week in and week out, yet you don’t have them listed as “Should be in USMNT Camp”. Same goes for Alvarado @ Club America & Ream @ Bolton (soon to be Fullam).
I think it is a function of how disappointed fans are in our boys (those who have been called into camp) and their performances.
Castillo has had plenty of chances under JK and has been underwhelming/bad. Bornstein isn’t happening. The rest I agree with but JK has some kind of issue with Lichaj and although he goes on about playing at the highest level he doesn’t seem to have a lot of love for Cameron, who is our only field player starting regularly in the EPL.
I agree. Castillo has gotten a lot looks, but has not performed up to par. The funny thing is he looks very good in Liga MX, but I suppose the play did not transfer. The same can be said about Chandler who looked very good at fullback last season in the Bundesliga, but was a liability with the USMNT.
However, I disagree with the Cameron issue. He clearly likes Cameron, but wants him at CB. He even kept playing him after his 2 mistakes cost us a win against Portugal. The problem is, until this year, he never played CB for Stoke. Actually, based upon an interview by Cameron a several years ago (when he was with Houston), he also prefers to play at CB/think it’s his best position. He would be the type of CB that Klinsman likes – CBs that play with the ball at their feet and can play out of the back. He has not played too much since the World Cup because (1) he (and Stoke) asked for a break this summer, and (2) JK used a lot of the EU based games for experimentation. Even then, outside this summer, there were only 5 European based games,and Cameron was in camp for 2 of them.
Based on JK’s criteria Cameron should be a lock for pretty much every roster. I understand Stoke asked for him to be given the summer off but, especially now that he’s playing at CB for Stoke, he should be given more opportunities going forward. Not sure why he never got a real opportunity at RB the past few seasons especially considering Chandler got multiple opportunities to stink the place up.
“he doesn’t seem to have a lot of love for Cameron,”
I don’t know what emotions , such as grudges, JK holds towards his players.
But JK has Geoff around more often than not.
Geoff has 31 caps, 30 of them given by JK.
JK has managed 63 games for the USMNT.
JK has picked Cameron, when he was available, for about 53% of JK’ games.
Stoke insisted Geoff stay out of the 2015 Gold Cup (7 games). That leaves you with 56 games where JK had Cameron available.
And of course I’m not sure how many of those 56 Cameron might have been injured or how many of them were games like the Camp Cupcake friendlies where players from England were not available.
As for the right back issue both JK and Cameron have made it clear they see center back as his long term, best role. The RB in JK’s system such as it is, going back to Dolo, is more of a wingback/ RB hybrid. I’ve seen more than few of Geoff’s games at RB for Stoke and he did not remind me of Dolo.
i think with Castillo he should be a wing option for the US. he has said, straight up, he doesn’t like defending. in Liga MX and the teams/systems he is in, him at LB works. but while he has certainly been underwhelming for the US, even in a more attacking role, i think he brings something we could use off the bench.
Cameron should be starting at CB next to Omar. i like JAB, but he isn’t starting. Alvarado seems to have solidified his spot at America, but I think Omar deserves some time. i noticed you did not include Orozco, he should absolutely be in camp as well. not only that, pushing to start.
Williams and Morales will be called up. and despite BVB destroying his team, Morales actually looked very good.
Lichaj, JB, and Castillo…who knows what JK will do. but given our issues at fullback, at least one of them needs to be in camp. my pick would be Lichaj.
No matter how much slack Jonny Bornstein has gotten from USMNT fans, we all have to admit (and congratulate him) that he has built a decent career in Liga MX. Salaries are not public and he is not star there (but good enough to start/play for a decent team – Queretaro). However, he has to be making more than pretty all defenders in MLS except Omar (1.4mill), Ridgewell (1 mill), Beasley (800k) and Besler (700k). Additionally, his income tax is lower (Mexico is at 30% for top earners, which is less than US).
Seems odd to me that he hasn’t at least been called into a NT camp given how hard it has been to develop any depth at LB.
Remember that he went a very long time, getting only token minutes. Only in the last year has he had more than a handful of LigaMX appearances.
I’m not sure but JB may not be playing at left back.
And he has only , very recently gotten any playing time with the first team which mens he should be fresh.
Bornstein was always going to peak as merely serviceable in International soccer and got PT at time we had very few options at FB. He never did get much praise, but a BIG part of the longstanding grief stems from one match/GC v Mexico. Truth be told- in spite of much trepidation that he was a weak link heading in, he actually had a very solid World Cup in SA.
They will always love him in Honduras since it was his goal in the last few minutes of the last qualifying game that sent Honduras to the WC and Costa Rica to a playoff, which they lost to Uruguay.
For what it is worth, which is debatable, the USMNT has a winning record in both friendlies and in competitive games when Jonny Boy played.
He is also married (or at least his girlfriend) to a beautiful Brazilian.
Check out his instagram: https://instagram.com/jonnybobos8/ .
Plus, it seems that Bradley recruited a couple of players who weren’t able to get a lot of playing time in MLS, but are doing well in Norway.
Is it harsh to say that Mix in MLS has me questioning how good Norway is? That and Bradley take a newly promoted team to 2nd place in 2 years.
I was thinking that about Mix, too. Maybe Norway was as good as MLS a couple of years ago, but I doubt it is now. Mix has been pretty much a bust in MLS so far. Of course, he may need a season to get adapted to the different style of play.
he was never a star in that league to begin with. Everyone just hyped him for no reason
Norway was not really a great league. Pretty much on par with MLS, but easier to transition into better leagues in Europe. I have said in the past, and I will say it again, MLS should not be losing players to Norway based upon monetary compensation. If players want to leave to leave in a new country, experience new things, then that is ok.
Sample size. And he plays for an expansion team. Those guys had never played together before this season. This isn’t football or baseball, it’s much more of a team sport. You can’t just throw a group of players together and expect it to work well.
Norway’s league has always been ranked in the mid 20’s, Currently it is ranked #26 in Europe.
Mix was loaned to Genk in Holland for a while and did not work out there.
If you are going to judge him based on his impact as a player in a European club he has never performed at the level of, for example, a Sacha Kljestan at Anderlecht or a Jozy at AZ or Gooch at Standard.
His time at NYFC has been inconsistent but so has the team.
As for the USMNT he has had his moments but if he doesn’t I take more advantage of his opportunities he will find himself increasingly on the outside looking in.
The Norwegian League is not as good as MLS. This was a step up for Mix and he isn’t handling it well so far.
worth discussing. that said, playing for NYCFC certainly does not help.
How’s Gatt’s injury coming along? and Joe Gyau?
Gyau is supposed to return following the winter break last I heard.