Code: 18 Reading 26 -23 22 19 Fulham 26 -19 19 20 Derby 26 -42 9 YAs: 1) Convey- Reading 2) Marcus - Reading 3) Dempsey- Fulham 4) Bocanegra- Fulham 5) Kasey Keller - Fulham 6) Feilhaber - Derby 7) Eddie Johnson - Fulham 8) Eddie Lewis - Derby 9) Hangeland - Fulham 10) McBride - Fulham Well this really doesn't look good at all. I think Reading have the quality to stay up but their attack today was anemic (Doyle and Kitson). Fulham seemed to be on a nice little run but they got done by an Arsenal reject (Aliadiere) with a team also in relegation contention. Now is officially the time to panic.
I wasn't going to include McBride or Eddie Lewis because I think they won't be playing in the Championship next season if they are playing at all. IMO if they play next year it will be in MLS.
There would have been a time when this would have been more concerning to me, but I guess I am settling into the realization that perhaps our current crop of YA's in England are just about where they should be - somewhere between bottom of the EPL and top of the Championship. No need for panic, that's just the way it is. I do think Dempsey is above the rest and cannot see him going down a level. And I believe Benny is getting jobbed in Derby. Those are the two players I'd rather not see in the Championship. The rest? It seems about right.
i think Reading might be able to pull themselves out, Fulham im not so sure about. I think if Fulham do go down though Dempsey will definatly be picked up by some other PL team, Boca might to though im not so sure about him.
Righto... I think it was still there when I typed it. Either way, it's been panic mode for me for a while. Things change often... Fulham's looked better, Derby is doomed and Reading are on a pretty brutal run... Chairman's fault for not investing more in the squad.
ful hammer As to the Fulham Americans, it is sad that they have made a pact to basically banish themselves into a lower league. Keller - can basically jump the sinking ship in the summer. Boca - I dont know what his contract status is, but him sitting on the bench will not get him back up to the PL with another club, so he might be part of the crew in the Coca-cola. Mchead - His situation is unclear, fulham have not reacted to loosing him early in the season and now they act like he must be a saviour for the pithy foreign talent they signed in the transfer window. (nevland andreason) oh boy!! Hopefully he has an option to get off the ship in june once its official. Dempsey - Wow, he wanted outta NE so bad and helped keep em (fulham) up last year and now it looks like he and EJ are along for the ride. They could concievably sell him in the summer to a PL team. Which is the best thing he can hope for right now. Johnson - Big idiot. IF fulham go down, EJ will never play for the NATS again thats for sure... cause fulham could struggle even next season in the Championship to get back up. I know KC sucks, but go to a place where he might not even get that many oppurtunities to help save them as was today they had (4) outta five americans on the subs bench.... shltty!! when EJ is ready to go, that could be (5) outta five and no one ever thought you would see them drop that far that fast.
This is good experience for them. The US isn't a dominating team at the world cup level so it's not such a bad thing for them to get experience trying to get results against more talented opposition. Did people forget that Convey and Hahnehman helped get Reading to the EPL in the first place? It's not like Reading's a super club and they are letting them down. Fulham plays it cheap. They seem resigned to their fate and Johnson was surely brought in mainly for next year in the Championship. He'll do well there and likely see success similar to his MLS days. Dempsey also will do well if he doesn't get sold. Boca needs to re-establish himself as an every game starter, this would be a way to do that. Lewis is screaming MLS - San Jose. Feilhaber obviously needs another move or perhaps the move down to the championship will put him in Derby's starting plans. Out of all 10 of those players we only typically start Dempsey and Boca, and most fans have someone else they'd rather see than Boca. Assuming Dempsey finds the right spot this will all work out ok even if the clubs do drop,
That is the exact opposite line of thinking to mine. I think winning and losing at club level spills over to winning/losing with the nats.
Re: ful hammer because we have other strikers capable of stepping in? it's not like we never call up Colaship players.
Convey's a championship player right now. He's out of form, definitely slower, and not all that dangerous on attack lately. It would not be shocking if he was not a Reading player next season no matter what level they are in.
I just wanted to make the point that even if Eddie Johnson is playing in the Championship next year, then he's at no worse a level than he was in MLS. That said, of course I'm not pleased about the prospect of losing so many Yanks from the EPL. I'm mostly worried about Bocanegra, actually, relative to the others, given that he's our NT captain and an integral part of our squad. Here's why: Dempsey is in a position where he will have a decent shot at being sold to a newly-promoted team if Fulham goes down. McBride, Keller, Hahnemann & Lewis are done or mostly done with the national team anyway, so I'm not overly concerned about their development. EJ's situation was mentioned at the beginning of this post. Convey is a Championship level player right now anyway, and had his best season when he was playing in that league. Feilhaber is in a horrible situation anyway, so whether he's in the Premiership in the Championship, his situation sucks as long as he is playing at Derby. I couldn't care less about Hangeland and don't even consider him a Yank Abroad, given that he was born to Norwegian parents, only lived here for a short time, and has over 40 caps for Norway.
assuming the worst does happen for Fulham and/or Reading, they can take comfort in the fact that the CCCL actually looks like itll be the weakest its been in a long time next season. Its never easy fighting back up mind you but assuming the likes of West Brom, Watford, and Charlton go up....theyll be challenged by the likes of Stoke (who is a premiership squad waiting to happen), Ipswich, Crystal Palace. Palace are a squad built on Sunderland rejects....with a few Sheffield United rejects just recently thrown in. Ipswich again, really not all that special. And these are the higher end teams in the league. Looking at the squads on some of these upper end teams, i actually rate Derby's chances of shooting straight back up. Not that Feilhaber is in their plans at all or that we will care about Derby after Lewis and Feilhaber leave but..... you get my drift. I dont think Fulham will go down, Reading on the other hand....Might have to push the big red panic button very soon.
Re: ful hammer Taylor Twellman described going from arugably the best team in MLS to the bottom club in he Championship as a "chance of a lifetime" so im sure EJ won't agree with you here. Regardless of where Fulam are next season, I reckon EJ did the ight thing. He would become stagnant @ KC. If he scores goals in the Championship he will either win promotion/get picked up to the premiership. No point in trying to be the next Twellman/Ching. As long as he doesn't do a Jemal Johnson...
Middlesbrough's problem has been scoring goals. They've scored fewer goals than every team in the PL not name Derby County. But they've just risen to 12th and they've added a pretty good striker in the transfer window. I think they'll survive. I also like what Roy Keane has done in the January window. He's added some good young talent, I think Sunderland will survive too. Bolton probably has too much quality to be drawn into the relegation battle, but I'm not sure where the goals are coming from without Anelka. Derby are relegated. It would take a miracle for them to survive. So that probably leaves Fulham, Reading, Wigan, and Birmingham City battling it out for 16th and 17th place. The odds are about 50/50 that well have one of either Fulham or Reading go down.
I've seen Wigan and Birmingham last 2 games (and WH have only got 1 point to show for it), they are playing much better than earlier in the season. Brum fell on their feet with Alex McLeish. Although they have some average players he's got them well organised and they are now difficult to break down. Same at Wigan, and that shocking pitch is an advantage to them as they play it every fortnight so know what tactics are best. Now the rugby league season has started it's going to get worse if that's at all possible. The teams most likely to survive are going to be those that are organised best at the back. It's not pretty football but it's effective. At the moment I'm not sure who will go down along with Derby, it's still pretty tight and there are plenty of games left to get a run of results.
Fixxxed. BTW, the fact that Derby, Reading and Fulham are in the relegation zone is neither due to nor in spite of the American presence on their rosters.
i know the focus of this thread is on premiership teams, but there's another yank looking at relegation in the league below. if wednesday get relegated, though, frankie simek will probably be sold off to another championship team or possibly even a premiership side (he's definitely good enough). everton were said to be interested in him before his injury. he might be sold in the summer even if they stay up.
Re: ful hammer It might be that the "chance of a lifetime" had more to do with multiplying his salary by a factor of at least four, and being with a team on the upswing than the downswing [and getting away from a dissolving marriage], than his evaluation on the quality of play at QPR versus New England. His chance was a very personal one.
if your so sure that dempsey will get picked up if fulham goes down, then (unbiasly, if that is a word) would you rather see fulham get relegated? because they obviously are not in good form and ideally you want dempsey to be playing with a talented team to help him progress. so if fulham gets relegated and portsmith picks dempsey up wouldnt you be hoping for fulham to go down. (just an example you can tell me who would be interested in getting him)