Antonee Robinson first eased his way into the fold at Premier League side Fulham, but since has become one of the more consistent players in the London-based side’s backline.
Robinson continued to impress for Scott Parker’s squad on Saturday, helping the hosts earn one point in a scoreless draw with Southampton at Craven Cottage. Since his move from Wigan Athletic, Robinson has pushed last season’s starting left back Joe Bryan to the bench and taken the lead at the position this season.
The 22-year-old has made 12 league appearances for the club, including 11-in-a-row dating back to early October. Confidence remains high in Robinson who has helped Fulham earn points in five of its last six league matches.
“Its another point in the right direction,” Robinson said post match. “I think tonight we played really well, defended everything we had to, even on the VAR decision it was us holding our defensive line. It’s still one point and it’s a clean sheet so we will build from that.”
“We did everything we worked on in training which was stopping them from having good chances and we did that tonight. They [Southampton] are a good side, but we limited their chances and I think it was a great performance.”
After being one of the top performers at Wigan Athletic last season, Robinson has shown a quick learning curve in his first crack at the Premier League. The speedy left back has not only been a threat in the offensive end for Fulham, but he’s been able to hold his own against some of the top offensive attacks in the division this season.
Sunday’s test of Stuart Armstrong, Theo Walcott, and Shane Long were held to one shot by Fulham’s backline, another positive result for the club who has tied its last four matches including a 1-1 draw with defending champions Liverpool back on December 13th. Robinson did well in his outing, making three interceptions, drawing one foul, and sending five crosses into the box, with his stoppage time cross just going over the net by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The U.S. Men’s National Team defender has quickly shown why several teams were interested in his services earlier this year and now aims to help Fulham take this good run into 2021.
“We’ve played some good teams of late and we’ve held our own and got some decent results so now I think in time we will start turning those results into wins,” Robinson said. “I think we just have to continue believing we belong.”
“That has to be the baseline in this league, to be able to get up and down the field,” Robinson said. “That is what I build my game on, to drive on the wing and to help the team on both ends of the field. Tonight I think I did well, but ultimately it’s about doing it every week.”
Fulham sits in 18th place, one point clear of safety heading into a December 30th date with London rivals Tottenham. It will be another strong test for Robinson, who will now go up against Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane, one of the league’s deadliest attacking duos. However, after helping keep Fulham’s unbeaten run going, the goal will be to stay confident and composed.
“The main thing is if you don’t win games to try and make sure you don’t lose them because in this league every point is crucial,” Robinson said. “The effort we are putting in to try and stay in the league is large so we just have to keep doing more of the same each and every game.”
I saw a metric that Robinson is the worst LB in the EPL at possession. I didn’t independently confirm that so take with a grain of salt. Robinson has improved and has been effective as a LWB for Fulham and he’s currently not a good fit for the USMNT. Both of these can be true. He’s young he’s showing improvement and who knows where he will be in 9 months when qualifying begins. It’s kind of naive to think how he plays as a LWB for a team that is mostly trying to counter guarantees him a starting spot on a team trying to retain possession as a LB. We’ll see where he is in March and then again at NL in June that will tell us more.
Where did you see this “metric”? Come with receipts, Johnny!
It was on Twitter so as I said take it for what it’s worth. I can’t find it again from the regulars I follow so it must have been a retweet. He’s a perfect fit for an early 2000s NT defending and countering it’s just still not clear he’s better than Dest at LB with Cannon at RB if we want possession. Now we have Reynolds headed for Serie A as well.
Certainly a better option than Lovitz.
Robinson is the type of player that needs a few games to adjust to the players around him. Greg should have given him the start in the 2nd November Friendly, and brought Dest on in the 2nd half, as it would have allowed him to settle in more with the team.
I still think that we’ll see Robinson & Dest as the starting backs once Robinson gets more comfortable with his teammates and the style of play.
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On a side note related to Fulham…Ream continues to be a bench player. I don’t think he’s seen the field in the past 8 matches. That’s very telling considering the last couple season’s he was often their starting LCB. Note to Gregg….time to move on from Ream.
Couldn’t Ream be a Championship level CB but still be one of the four best options at CB for the NT. I’d agree the pairing of he and Miazga is not our strongest but both mistakes against Panama were more Matt than Tim so if Ream isn’t good enough we probably need to move on from Miazga too.
Ream is a 33 yr Old LCB who has never really been what one would call quick. If we’re going to play a High Press than he’ll be exposed. He’s also known for at least 1 significant gaff per game. Add that he’s not getting minutes for his club and it’s clearly time to move on.
Miazga on the other hand is a 25 yr old CB who has some questionable decision making ability. However, he’s seeing regular minutes with his club and is being coached by a legendary EX-CB. Miazga also provides a bit of Bite/Physicality that is often needed. I’m fin looking at other options, but Miazga, unlike Ream, isn’t ready for the trash heap yet.
I think there’s a big difference in not playing for your club in EPL and not playing for your club in say 2Bundesliga. As for the “good for one gaffe a game” what US CB isn’t?
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I’d rate the LCBs this way
1. Brooks
2. McKenzie
3. Ream
If Brooks is unavailable I think you still bring Ream
Defenders must be judged on the quality of the attackers they successfully frustrate. Liverpool. Southampton and next-up Tottenham provide the kind of test that allows a defender to show his mettle.
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If he does well against Kane and co. he will probably have cemented his spot at starting LB for the USMNT. With Dest at right back, Adams at DM and no shortage of decent CBs, the defense for the USMNT looks better than it ever has.
I’ve seen a lot of improvement from his defensive and positional play. I think this bodes extremely well for the national team, as having both right and left back positions running two deep with very good players will allow us to rotate players in tournaments. I think a Dest/Cannon first choice and a Robinson/Yedlin second choice would very likely be the best depth at those positions in CONCACAF.