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Ramsey Report: Questions Still Surround Americans As The Season Gets Into Full Swing
Still plenty of American players searching for a home, and there could be more in the near future.
Aug 26, 2010 12:58:00 PM
By Allen Ramsey
Get ready for the dominoes to start falling.
With the transfer window just days away from closing, the EPL roster announcements on September 1, and a number of American players still searching for a place to call home this season, there should be plenty of talking points in the coming days.
Here's a brief rundown of where some people stand and some ideas about what might happen for them.
DaMarcus Beasley is still a free agent but should be on a roster soon. Here in the States Beasley has drawn the ire of the fans over the last couple of year, but at one point the winger was arguably the top player in Europe among all Americans. Keep in mind that Beasley is only 28. Though he's been fighting injuries for a number of seasons now, when healthy he still has the ability to contribute to top level clubs and can, at the very least, bring a spark off the bench.
Steve Cherundolo's Hannover are being linked with the former Rangers midfielder and Germany seems like a nice landing spot for the well traveled speedster.
Like Beasley, Jay DeMerit is playing the waiting game. Unlike Beasley, there haven't been many links with other clubs. At 30, DeMerit is not a player that clubs are looking to bring in for the future, but it's a shock that a player who has proven he can play well against top level talent with the USA isn't being sought by somebody.
The transfer window closing may actually end up being a great thing for DeMerit. Once clubs get a look at their squads, there are bound to be plenty who come to the realization that they could use some extra cover at the back, and passing up on the former Watford captain will not be an easy thing to do. We see it every year with aging players. They sit an wait while clubs chase the next young superstar, and then they sign with a club that needs another veteran.
Freddy Adu is training in Greece according to his twitter account, where he also posted that his "mind is made" and that it's "always great to have clarity."
If Aris is where Adu plays this season, it honestly wouldn't be the worst thing. He seemed to fit in well on loan last season and showed some signs of the playmaking skills that have a few American fans still hoping to see him as a regular member of the national team.
I wonder if Eddie Johnson would head back to Greece if he doesn't land on the 25-man roster with Fulham?
Johnson had a very promising pre-season with the Cottagers, scoring twice and from all accounts fighting hard for a place in new manager Mark Hughes' plans. But it's not all smiles for Eddie.
Hughes, in three matches, has yet to play Johnson and has already handed a start and substitute appearance to new signing Moussa Dembele. With Andy Johnson on his way back in the near future, Zoltan Gera and Clint Dempsey both being played primarily up front, and Bobby Zamora having a solid grip on the target striker role, Johnson's may never even get the chance to make his mark under Hughes.
As for Dempsey, I continue to be amazed that managers refuse to give him a starting spot until he's left no doubt that the spot should be his. Sure, there should be competition, but you would think that leading your team in league goals two out of the last three years and narrowly missing out on making it three in a row - mostly because of missing two months of action last year - would at least give Dempsey the starting spot as his to lose.
Factor in that Mark Hughes, as Manchester City manager, watched Dempsey rip his team on more than one occasion and it should be a slam-dunk. Unfortunately, Dempsey is not European, he was brought in by another manager, and his competition for playing time all have nice European credentials.
As Eddie Johnson said earlier in the week to the Associated Press "being an American it's tough to come over here and do well in such a big league where American players are still fighting for respect."
Still, don't expect Dempsey to be on the move. Even though it seems like Hughes is unwilling to give him a full match to show his ability, eventually the aging legs of the rest of Fulham's team will leave the manager with no choice but to make the American a regular starter, and once he's in the lineup most managers have a hard time getting him out of it.
Allen Ramsey is an associate editor for Goal.com USA. The Ramsey Report runs every Thursday on Goal.com.
For more on Americans abroad, visit Goal.com's dedicated page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
With the transfer window just days away from closing, the EPL roster announcements on September 1, and a number of American players still searching for a place to call home this season, there should be plenty of talking points in the coming days.
Here's a brief rundown of where some people stand and some ideas about what might happen for them.
DaMarcus Beasley is still a free agent but should be on a roster soon. Here in the States Beasley has drawn the ire of the fans over the last couple of year, but at one point the winger was arguably the top player in Europe among all Americans. Keep in mind that Beasley is only 28. Though he's been fighting injuries for a number of seasons now, when healthy he still has the ability to contribute to top level clubs and can, at the very least, bring a spark off the bench.
Steve Cherundolo's Hannover are being linked with the former Rangers midfielder and Germany seems like a nice landing spot for the well traveled speedster.
Like Beasley, Jay DeMerit is playing the waiting game. Unlike Beasley, there haven't been many links with other clubs. At 30, DeMerit is not a player that clubs are looking to bring in for the future, but it's a shock that a player who has proven he can play well against top level talent with the USA isn't being sought by somebody.
The transfer window closing may actually end up being a great thing for DeMerit. Once clubs get a look at their squads, there are bound to be plenty who come to the realization that they could use some extra cover at the back, and passing up on the former Watford captain will not be an easy thing to do. We see it every year with aging players. They sit an wait while clubs chase the next young superstar, and then they sign with a club that needs another veteran.
Freddy Adu is training in Greece according to his twitter account, where he also posted that his "mind is made" and that it's "always great to have clarity."
If Aris is where Adu plays this season, it honestly wouldn't be the worst thing. He seemed to fit in well on loan last season and showed some signs of the playmaking skills that have a few American fans still hoping to see him as a regular member of the national team.
I wonder if Eddie Johnson would head back to Greece if he doesn't land on the 25-man roster with Fulham?
Johnson had a very promising pre-season with the Cottagers, scoring twice and from all accounts fighting hard for a place in new manager Mark Hughes' plans. But it's not all smiles for Eddie.
Hughes, in three matches, has yet to play Johnson and has already handed a start and substitute appearance to new signing Moussa Dembele. With Andy Johnson on his way back in the near future, Zoltan Gera and Clint Dempsey both being played primarily up front, and Bobby Zamora having a solid grip on the target striker role, Johnson's may never even get the chance to make his mark under Hughes.
As for Dempsey, I continue to be amazed that managers refuse to give him a starting spot until he's left no doubt that the spot should be his. Sure, there should be competition, but you would think that leading your team in league goals two out of the last three years and narrowly missing out on making it three in a row - mostly because of missing two months of action last year - would at least give Dempsey the starting spot as his to lose.
Factor in that Mark Hughes, as Manchester City manager, watched Dempsey rip his team on more than one occasion and it should be a slam-dunk. Unfortunately, Dempsey is not European, he was brought in by another manager, and his competition for playing time all have nice European credentials.
As Eddie Johnson said earlier in the week to the Associated Press "being an American it's tough to come over here and do well in such a big league where American players are still fighting for respect."
Still, don't expect Dempsey to be on the move. Even though it seems like Hughes is unwilling to give him a full match to show his ability, eventually the aging legs of the rest of Fulham's team will leave the manager with no choice but to make the American a regular starter, and once he's in the lineup most managers have a hard time getting him out of it.
Allen Ramsey is an associate editor for Goal.com USA. The Ramsey Report runs every Thursday on Goal.com.
For more on Americans abroad, visit Goal.com's dedicated page and join Goal.com USA's Facebook fan page!
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