I'm saying both. According to soccernet, McBride has a total of 111 games for Everton and Fulham. Steve C. has 153 games from the 02-03 season onward. (I think that's their first season in the BL.1.)
McBride's not a consistent goalscorer. That's the problem here. He's got 30 career league goals for Fulham. He's been there 3 1/2 season.
I was referring to impact on his team not the Premiership overall (and I did say Friedel was ahead of McBride in this respect)
I'm confused why that's a problem - he hasn't been known to leak goals either as Cherundolo has done in the past. He's starting when healthy. Can you explain in more detail why you think Cherundolo has had (or will have had) a greater impact? If it's about longevity than I would agree that there any number of folks ahead of McBride - Joe Enochs, Earnie, etc.
About this game - I saw it and was very impressed with Dempsey. He was the reason - he main reason - why Fulham ot anything out of the game. Some of it was luck, though; he was in the right place at the right time. But his attitude and work-rate and plain smarts; willingness to take a chance... were so impressive. Best player on the field that day, IMO. And if he strings games like that together more regularly, Fulham will have a hard time holding onto him. The game was also lost though from Spurs when they took out Keane. What a ridiculous move... I like DeFoe, but Jol must've been on something. Terrible decision. I also didn't think Bocangra looked too good either in the game, and neither did Baird who repeatedly got torched down the left.
^^^^ Bocanegra has gotten off to a poor start this year by his standards, yet he's clearly NOT a weak point in Fulham's defense. They've got some serious problems back there. Many more games as an important player on his team. And his team is as good as Fulham has been in the McBride era, and arguably better. McBride has basically had a 2 season run helping his team and that's it.
Over the top? A little but the expectations of BS posters and a sports writer are not even a small fraction of the expectations and pressure he will feel on a relegation threatened team (which they look like) fighting to stay in the PL. Hopefully they can solidify their defending to avoid this but it looks unlikely. So his chances of "developing naturally in the 'prem" probably is out of the question and unrealistic at this stage as long as he's at Fulham, a point also made in the article. That was a fantastic performance though, no doubt about it. COYW
I don't know, he has looked completely inept at times. I was watching the FSC Premiership review with Bobby McMahon last night, and they showed a replay of that incident where both he and Niemi went for the same ball on the edge of the box. Not sure whose fault that was, but in the subsequent play what does Bocanegra do? He literally just stands there while a Spurs player gets the ball and shoots, with another Fulham defender (Baird maybe?) bailing them out by deflecting the ball for a corner. It's that slowness of reaction to a situation that makes me wonder about Bocanegra's competence. Otoh, I do agree that Baird has looked postively awful... come back Zat, all is forgiven
Yes and no. Yes in the sense that any shuffling that puts a better defender than Boca in the backfield would be a good thing (and IMO, an importantl upgrade if Fulham want to stay in EPL next season). No in the sense that Boca did not exactly impress in the few matches that he played as a midfielder last season. What happened to all the defenders that Sanchez signed this past summer?
I would more so if the Cottagers were a Top 10 squad as it is now they're in for a relegation battle and the Toon should be well clear of that mess this year. Boca hustles and will get stuck in and has a knack for scoring but I just think his decision making on the back line can be disastrous. Put him in the defensive midfield and his shortcomings can covered up to a certain degree.
I agree there. My comment was more comparing him with the rest of the backline, which has looked completely inept more often, and/or looked solid less often. They're really bad. Boca has been an adequate Prem defender, nothing more, and he's in a slump. Still, in the games I've seen, he's not the biggest problem.
For some guys, developing naturally means being coddled, nurtured, brought along slowly. For others, it's a matter of being forced by adverse circumstances to find out how much better they can be. I think Clint is developing naturally at Fulham.
I saw that too - it was Baird that bailed him out. Sort of a saving grace aftergetting torched by Gareth Bale (looks quite promising on the left side for Tottenham!). But Baird was largely inept and ineffective. Meanwhile [result] Knight scores the winner vs. Chelsea[/result]. Funny stuff... looks twice the player he was at Fulham - but I predict he'll get back to his old self by November. Just enough to give us Villa fans enough hope to make it that much more painful in October.
Knight was very good for the first 2/3 or so of the season, up until he had that knife injury. After that, he was almost as bad as the Old Zat. So there's hope.
I think that what Fulham really need is a keeper that can help organize the defense -Niemi was a nightmare. He was all over the place and you could see Boca trying to calm him down. Also remember it takes awhile for two CB's to learn to work together. Had Stef even been in a training session before he was pushed onto the pitch for the Spurs game? Finally, I think that Boca can be a good 2nd CB but the other CB has to be a real leader. I don't think Boca can be that leader - I am not sure his soccer IQ is high enough.
Not diagreeing, but to be fair, Niemi has always been very good at organizing from the back. This was his first game in a while (was it since the winter injury?). Not saying he gets a chance to play his way back into shape with the first 11, but he is a pretty good keeper, and when back on form, would not be a problem for fulham.
Foxsports had an article saying how great Dempsey played. I wish i could find some highlights of the game
Just got back from a 2 week trip to England and one of the highlights was seeing this match live. I've always had bad luck attending matches with Yanks on English teams over the years - Fulham with Hahnemann and Lewis (unused sub and not on roster). Crystal Palace with Berhalter (not on gameday roster). Fulham with McBride a few years back (unused sub). The only American I've gotten to see is Friedel, and he got spanked for three quick goals against Arsenal in an FA Cup match quarterfinal (before Rovers were promoted). But this was amazing. Two yanks starting and a goal & two assist performance from Dempsey. Boca made everyone wince a few times, but then again, just about everyone else on the backline did as well. Unfortunately the early goal kept the home crowd very quiet. Tottenham's fans were loud and in good form for 76 minutes - but nothing was louder then the "You're not singing anymore" chant in extra-time. Plenty of beers at the Cottage Pub before and after the match on the only sunny day during my stay made for a great day.
Showoff! Sounds like you were due for a good YA experience. Any comments or discussions with the locals about their view of Duece?