Craven Cottage Newsround

Thanks to BQ for this link.

Andrew Rogers of Soccer365.com runs his opinion over the Americans in this year’s Premiership.  It should have been an interesting article, but here’s what he said about our Big Three:

Brian McBride:
Martin O’Neil: “Everyone in this country is looking for a 25 year old Brian McBride.” Fulham’s Premiership status was secure as long as they could get McBride on the field. He receives rave reviews from the writers and fans week after week. He isn’t slowing down and deserves a shot at a bigger club.

The first bit’s a nice quote from O’Neill and presumably quite accurate.  But the rest is troublesome and suggests that Mr Rogers hasn’t watched any of our games before commenting on them.   “Fulham’s Premiership status was secure as long as they could get McBride on the field”… how?  What?  Don’t get me wrong, Brian McBride is a hero to Fulham fans for reasons I’ve been repeating all year, but let’s make no mistake here:  he’s a very willing but not excessively able forward now. Nine goals in a poorish side is about reflective of his abilities.   So to suggest that we were safe as long as we could get him out there is downright weird. “He isn’t slowing down.”  Yes he is.  He’s taken good care of himself but he looked absolutely cream crackered at the end of the season, mainly because of all the lost causes he gamely chased all year.   “And deserves a shot at a bigger club.”  Who?  Why?  When?

Look, I don’t want to seem ungrateful to McBride, who pretty much deserved his player of the year award and makes me proud to be a Fulham supporter.  But let’s not get carried away here.  We’ll never know if his edge was blunted by the average football around him, probably it was, but equally he often failed to rise above things as the player Rogers is trying to describe would have.  He’s a good pro and an asset to his club and his country, but clearly we’re looking at the twilight of his career now. 

Carlos Bocanegra:
Goals and regular performances from the Cali’ native have made this season positive. But despite finding favour with Chris Coleman did not cement a regular position. He needs to define himself in one role but the question remains. If in a fully fit squad, is he good enough to start in the Premiership?

Fair enough, this.  Not sure what the answer is, but his eye for goal was indeed vital this year.   Needs to eradicate the silly mistakes now, otherwise his defensive play looked really good at times.  He’s improved though, and another leap will make him very valuable.

Clint Dempsey:
Scored the goal that kept Fulham in the top flight- “Deuce” knows when to come up big. Despite being brought in by Coleman, the Texan was kept on the bench and showed promise when coming on as a substitute. Next year is likely to be tough despite his growing confidence. New manager Lawrie Sanchez is not a big fan of passing football, and if Dempsey does get a game it is likely to be as a glorified work horse.

“A glorified work horse.”  What?  Sanchez used Dempsey in a more attacking, more fluid role than Coleman ever dared to.  Glorified work horse?  I can’t begin to understand what he’s trying to say.  Dempsey didn’t get a run under Coleman, Sanchez tried him and spotted something (Deuce was half-getting half-chances that no other Fulham player seemed to be capable of seeing) and sure enough the man delivered when it mattered most.  There’s no reason for him not to kick on next year and become a really important player for Fulham. 

So yeah, as I said, interesting idea, crazy application.   Mr Rogers, if by some cosmic happenstance you end up reading this, please explain.  Opinions are opinions, of course, and I’ve just had a can of Red Bull so jumpiness abounds, but come on…