I feel like he could play at a better club than championship bottom-feeder....he did pretty well in the EPL by all accounts. He should be playing at a first division club somewhere.
Could? Probably, but his wages may be an issue: when he signed with Forest he was transferring from an EPL club, so his wages would have been quite high and he's been one of their most important and consistent players, which would have kept them fairly high. He's also quite settled in the region, so he may be unwilling to agitate for a move. The real factor, however, is that while he's a good player he's never been rated a Championship stand-out in the way that Yedlin has, so he hasn't attracted the "name your price bids" from a player promotion-chaser. He'll go to a better team when his contract is up and he can move on a Bosman, or when Forest get an new and non-insane owner who hires a competent Director of Football who restructures the squad to make Forest a better team. I'm not holding my breath on the second option.
Starts: Here's how #NFFC line up for today's clash with @htafcdotcom (kick-off 3pm) pic.twitter.com/lAeKE988QK— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 8, 2017
and scores Goal for Forest! (Lichaj 32') #NFFC 1-0 Huddersfield pic.twitter.com/oQqpX36iTI— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 8, 2017
Starts: Here's how #NFFC will line up against @CardiffCityFC at the Cardiff City Stadium this afternoon... pic.twitter.com/ts7cfPPrA2— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 17, 2017
I doubt a month is going to make or break a move - he has a whole body of work to justify (or not) a "nice move."
Starts in a big match vs. fellow relegation-battlers QPR: 🔴⚪️ Here's how #NFFC line up against @QPRFC at Loftus Road this afternoon... pic.twitter.com/zueUB9IiXV— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 29, 2017
Lichaj and Co. lose 2-0. Forest, Blackburn & Birmingham will fight for survival on the final matchday
Damn a goal differential of just one is keeping them in right now. If they get a worse result than Blackburn on Sunday they're going down. They do get to host 16th place Ipswich though while Blackburn has to go away to 10th place Brentford
As I recall he was barely hanging on for a terrible team during his EPL tenure. I don't think anyone thought he did "pretty well."
i recall he did so well 1 game he marked Bale right out of the game. But AV have been so terrible the last few years. I can't recall if he did well or terrible or if was simply "ok/decent"/ But your point still stands as he was on a terrible squad.
He did "pretty well" in the context of "holy crap American fullbacks suck, and we have one playing semi-regularly in the Premier League. He must be better than everyone else we have." He certainly wasn't even an average Premier League player. If he was either then or now, he'd be playing in it. That's not a slight on him, for what it's worth. He could certainly be playing for a playoff contender in the Championship.
The discussion here is about whether he can generally hack it at a club better than a Championship bottom feeder, not whether he is decent for an American, so I stand by my words in regard to how he played in the EPL.
So what is it that Lichaj that has or is missing that prevented him from doing well in the PL (or returning there)?
He's adequate at many aspects of the game, but excels at none. Not particularly fast or athletic, not particularly skilled, but not slow or clumsy either. Just not exceptional enough to be EPL quality--like much of our roster. At least that's what I remember.
I know USMNT discussion is a no-no, but I feel like Lichaj would be super valuable for CONCACAF WCQ. He's a solid pro. He's versatile. Has leadership. I think with the right team he could be an EPL player, it's just a matter of continuing to get that experience so he can make up for athletic deficiencies.