photo by ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Another month of Premiership action is near its end, and for a quartet of Americans, the race to avoid relegation is a little too close for comfort.
Jozy Altidore is in the lowest position, as Hull City sit in 19th place. But the Tigers can boost their chances of leaping out of the drop zone when they play Marcus Hahnemann and Wolves, who only sit two spots ahead of them with just one more point.
The match should be interesting not just because of the relegation implications, but because of the Altidore-Hahnemann matchup as well. Altidore is returning from compassionate leave, and is still in search for his first league goal, while Hahnemann will aim to keep him scoreless en route to posting his fourth shutout of the season.
A spot above Wolves in 16th place stand Jonathan Spector and West Ham United. With Spector starting the past two games at left back, the Hammers have pulled out consecutive draws, surrendering only one goal in the process. Playing against Blackburn this weekend, West Ham will need another stingy defensive performance from Spector and co. to continue ascending up the standings.
The American who finds himself in the best situation with a relegation-threatened club, however, is recent Bolton Wanderers signee Stuart Holden. Holden and 15th-place Bolton battle Liverpool.
Here is a rundown of who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:
David Yeldell and TUS Koblenz play Fortuna Dusseldorf. (Yeldell is out injured.) Jonathan Spector and West Ham United play Blackburn Rovers. Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan and Aston Villa. (Dempsey is out injured.) Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Everton play Wigan Athletic. Jozy Altidore and Hull City play Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Liverpool. Frank Simek and Sheffield Wednesday play Plymouth Argyle. Jay DeMerit and Watford play Swansea City. Jon-Paul Pittman and Wycombe Wanderers play Bristol Rovers. Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Hartlepool United. Jemal Johnson and Stockport County play Southampton. Ian Joyce and Southend United play Swindon Town. Mike Grella and Leeds United play Colchester United. Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Hamilton Academical. DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Rangers play Falkirk. Steve Cherundolo, Sal Zizzo and Hannover 96 play Nurnberg. (Zizzo is out injured.) Michael Bradley and Borussia Moenchengladbach play Werder Bremen. Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play FC Cologne. Jose Francisco Torres and Pachuca play Atlante Michael Orozco and San Luis play Morelia. (Orozco is linked with a move to MLS and the Philadelphia Union.) Kenny Cooper and TSV 1860 Munich play Karlsruhe. (Cooper is linked with a move to Plymouth Argyle.) ———————– Which match-ups are you most looking forward to? What match would you attend in person if you could? Glad to see Charlie Davies back on the list? Share your thoughts below.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Freddy Adu, Eddie Johnson and Aris Salonika play FC Xanthi.
Herculez Gomez and Puebla play Queretaro.
Marco Vidal and Indios de Ciudad Juarez play America.
MONDAY
Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern play Alemania Aachen.
—————–
Which Americans Abroad match are you most looking forward to? Which player(s) do you see having a big impact? Think Altidore will help Hull avoid relegation with a goal this weekend, or will Hahnemann blank him? Do you hope Spector gets tried out at left back for the national team? Will Holden make his debut this weekend?
Share your thoughts below.
Herc cannot possibly be American, can he? I watched the Champions League final with him one year and all he talked about was Mexico was his dream place to play soccer ( I guess he achieved his dream) lol. He hated the MLS, especially the Rapids.
I know Holden has talent that is growing and is the type of player that plays better in the biggest games. But when do you think he’ll get the chance?
I have to think Holden is going to play backup to all other MF positions besides RW, hes not passing Vladimir Weiss, hes next in line in terms of being subbed but the 1 minute Vladimir Weiss was in that last game, the first thing that popd into my head was “holy sh## Holden is not going to get PT” because of the way that kid was moving.
Lee is very solid technical ability wise and I dont see him not starting unless Vladimir Weiss gets the start.
Jozy needs to start and/or score soon.
Word in the papers in Greece is that Freddy will be on the bench again as the manager tries to decide which of the TWO players in front of him will start on the left side. (right side is locked down by Tony Calvo) Eddie has a chance to start as Sergio Koke picked up a shoulder injury in their last game. I imagine if Sergio starts that Eddie will see some time as a sub.
BBC has a report of Coopers move to Plymouth. link to news.bbc.co.uk
The deal to sign Cooper, who had a loan spell at Oldham in 2005, is not expected to be finalised before Plymouth’s game at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
How many teams get relegated?
Dude, just stop. Why does someone do this every day?
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Zaki is likely to start for Hull. He may be a nutcase, but at this stage he’s definitely an upgrade on the potential-filled Jozy. For a team in a relegation battle, I don’t see any way in which Brown would choose Jozy ahead of Zaki.
Is Jozy talking into his Batman Wrist Phone? Who’s he talking to? I bet it’s Donovan. I bet Donovan bought them for all the USMNT players in the EPL as soon as he arrived at Everton. Dempsey never wears his and that pisses Landon off.
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Is it safe to assume that Hull will only play one forward? Might Brown put Jozy and Zaki up top together? Is Zaki a speedster?
Actual questions, no snark intended.
On a team that can’t score at all 2 forwards would make sense. Most of the Hull followers have hated the 451 he has run with most of the season. Would be nice if Jozy had a partner up top that he could play off of.
However the question really is how long Zaki is there before he goes AWOL. Dude is a nut.
I can hope that Holden and Adu will make the pitch.
Jozy will see the field again this season, I think his success is totally dependent on how he channels the Haiti catastrophe. If he fights twice as hard for them, he’ll score. If he is distracted, either by the incident of by the admirable off field work he is engaged in, his future will be in limbo.
any chance everton is on tv?
You sir… are a genius.. i mean that in every sense of the word.
Hey Ives, shouldn’t Charlie Davies be listed?
fsc saturday at 7pm et
thanks
Ives / Franco, any thoughts on including Daniel Williams?
Best post of the week! Maybe Ives can start a column once a month or so featuring the best post(s) on SBI. This should be the first winner.
Lord, please let MLS start soon. As exciting as these battles for last place are…..
Yeah I never understood that one. They’ve always listed Gooch and even Jones, but never Charlie.
YES! thank you
So, when do some of this League One and Championship players get a shot with the USMNT? I mean Jon-Paul Pittman is scoring goals.
What I mean is that we are going to have to overhaul the team in the next few years, being that Landon and Clint and Carlos and Demerit and Gooch are all 28 or older, even Jones is close.
Beasley is no longer listed as out injuried — has his thigh recovered and is he a selection option this weekend?
I was wondering that too.
I would like to start a game for these. An over/under line for how many will a) start b)play. A) 6 B)10
Come on Marcus, give Jozy a chance and just “pretend” to go for his shots… We need him to have some confidence!! Take one for the national team.
I’ve been wondering about this transfer. I mean I like it, even if Holden barely plays, I think training and fighting for an EPL spot is more valuable than MLS preseason and early season.. but Weiss is highly regarded and isn’t the Asian outside mid (Lee?) one of their ‘better’ players?
It might be tougher than we hoped for Stu to get mins.
Although Coyle does seem to like the kid.. maybe he’s thinking 10/11 when Weiss goes back to City..
is holden eligibal to play or has signing not official yet
Sadly i see jozy getting precious few minutes in the next month and possibly through the year. 80 min’ sub call ins to use his strength against a hopefully tired CB.
Everything re Haiti was admirable but his time away and the transfer probably cemented his drop in the selection sheet for at least a month.
Yes, he is supposed to be eligible for this weekend.
link to soccerbyives.net
*this was a reply for brian.
Beas and Edu didn’t dress last two games. Not listed as injured, are they back?
yeah, the plan is to stay out of the regulation zone so that also goes against Holden in terms of PT.
the 6month contract is a smart move imo, gets good coaching and if Bolton does get regulated, he could move to another club. With what I think hes capable of showing… hes best used as a sub anyway. I think Holden will get some minutes this year that will be impressive. This will make him higher in demand for his next contract.
I think Holden trusts Coyle will make him a better player. As do I
Does this mean Beasley is back? he’s not listed injured anymore. I really hope he returns to form.
We had Charlie on the Americans Abroad list, but after the car accident, with a possible 12 month recovery time, we took him off. With Ives breaking the news that he could be back in a couple months, he is back on the list.
Bolton has loaned Arsenal’s Jack Wilshire. Considering that Wenger would never send any of his players out on loan unless there is an agreement that he is guarenteed to play, Holden is in a lot of trouble.
I think Beas is expected to play. Edu is still recovering from an ankle injury.
How many get regulated?
I’m hoping English isn’t your native tongue.
Let’s ask Warren G.
Awesome post…Mount up!!! LOL…
Does anyone know about guy Daniel Williams who plays in the Bundesliga for Freiburg? Yanks Abroad is reporting he has dual citizenship?
agreed, thought the exact same when i saw it. even with the signing of weiss, it was going to be tough for him.
add to that the fact that the country’s most promising youngster is now in the fold, a kid who is just as versatile as Holden, and I see a recipe for reserve team football for Stu. There’s going to be enormous pressure to make sure that Wilshire sees a ton of minutes. Plus he’s much better than Holden, so that kind of sucks, too.
agreed, he has done absolutely nothing to earn his spot on the field (at least not during games, training may be different). He often seems to get lost out there and seems out of his element. If he doesn’t score soon, its over
If he is that much better than Holden then Arsenal would have kept him. I like that Holden has to fight for PT. I have faith the Holden will win the coaches respect and will see decent time one the pitch.
come on, man. who would you rather have if you were a coach, holden or wilshere?
Hey Guys and Gals…
Not looking good over at Hull City, FC:
Hull City’s Poor Finances May Force Squad Overhaul
link to tinyurl.com
“The match might also come too early for Stuart Holden to make his debut after the new-signing picked up a slight thigh problem in training.” from Bolton’s official website.
Reading all these comments about our injured players made me think, “how the hell has Donovan stayed so healthy for SOOOO LONG?” Not counting the swine flu thing,I cant even remember the last time he missed a game because of an injury.
He really is a first rate athlete. Perhaps I should just shut my mouth, lest I jinx him.
Knock on wood…
He got that thigh injury before they signed him. What that says to me is… he was trying hard as hell during the trial, did well, and got hurt by playing hard.
I cant see Holden not getting better, like a lot better. Competition is great for a developing player with something to prove. He’ll get his shot. I rather have him get a shot in a few weeks than before so he’s sharper.
this is from an interview with Stu about Coyle
“The manager had watched a couple of games and I had spoken with him on the phone, and it surprised me how much he knew about my playing style and my career. It really drew me to him along with the way that the teams he has managed play their football.
Coyle seems like an awesome manager
Nah I disagree. Dempsey’s only 26, Gooch is 27, both have another world cup after this one. Landon will be 33 next world cup but will still play. Boca, Demerit and Dolo are the only players I can think of who won’t be back for the next world cup.
Just confirmed that my friends and I got US/England and US/Algeria tickets. We get to see all 3 US games in South Africa. I am so excited I don’t know what to do. The ultimate Americans Abroad trip!
Clint is 26, Landon and Gooch are 27 (although they will be 27, 28 and 28 respectively by the World Cup). I would guess all three will be around for 2014 if healthy.
Glad for you. So tell us (taking notes…). Where do you live? Where do you plan to keep the tickets? Do you have an alarm? LOL
I had a dream that Jozy will score this weekend. Landon will contribute a brace against Wigan. Freddy Adu will add the game winning goal in Greece, assist from Eddie.
That sounds more like Dionne Warwick and his psychic friends. But I digress.
his=her– that is…
Wait….wait…I’m seeeing some..thing…. Herc’s getting his first hat trick in Mexico. And Stuart’s play earns USA chants.
Bolton have also just loaned Arsenal’s A.Ramsey, who can play up top and any where in the midfield.
Im trying to find news on that, i dont see it
Can Michael Hoyos playing for Estudiantes de la Plata play for the USMNT?
Also Sueno MLS winner Gabriel Nunez is also playing for River Plate of Argentina, can he play for the USMNT?