Posted by Matt
Posted on 10:56 AM
with No comments
Manchester United 1 - 1 Aston Villa
Brad Friedel seems to step up his game when he plays against Manchester United and this week was no exception. The former goalkeeper for the USMNT was fantastic in preserving the draw for Aston Villa. His calm saves and quick reflexes belie his 39 years of age. He played an excellent game and if it weren't for that Landon Donovan guy, he'd be the U.S. Expat Footballer of the Week. Well done, Brad.
This week, four Americans (all members of the USMNT) played in big games in the Premier League. Landon Donovan and Tim Howard of Everton played a part in their team's loss to Liverpool. Howard didn't get in front of Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt on a corner kick. Kuyt planted himself feet from Howard, who should have stepped in front of Kuyt but ultimately failed to take care of the threat and conceded the goal. Donovan was largely ineffective this game, but had flashes of brilliance when he cut through two defenders to put a nice cross into the box, where absolutely no one in blue was available to receive it.
Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Tottenham Hotspur. It was a boring game. Villa's goalkeeper is Brad Friedel kept a clean sheet with his highlight coming near the end of the first half when Spur's Peter Crouch headed a free-kick to his teammate, Ledley King, whose shot headed for the upper left corner of the goal. Friedel managed to flick a sure goal away from the net. Friedel's teammates accounted for 17 blocked shots.
However, the Overseas American Player of the Week is Jozy Altidore, who helped Hull City to a 2 - 1 win over Manchester City by scoring his first Premier League goal.
Well done, Jozy. Hopefully this is the first of many more goals to come.
Well, whether you like the name of our award or not, Landon Donovan was yet again the best American player last weekend and gets our Weekly Salute for his service overseas. Not that he had much competition. Tim Howard is really the only player that you could argue deserved it over Donovan, but he wasn't really challenged in goal (more on this in a bit).
Donovan didn't have an assist like last week or have any direct involvement in any of Everton's 2 goals, but he had a great game. You really needed to see the entire game to appreciate how well Donovan did. Not the greatest player on the field, but definitely proving that he deserves to start and can compete with the best talent in England. Donovan played so well that the Everton coach intentionally subbed him in the 90th minute so that the fans could show their appreciation for his performance and cheer him as he came off the field. The reception was so good that Donovan is already considering extending his stay with Everton to the end of the Premier League season (May) instead of the start of the MLS season (March). Speaking of the fans, after the game Donovan said:
"I've been made to feel so welcome and when you're welcome like that you don't want to let anyone down," he told the Liverpool Echo. It's a sharp contrast to how I felt last year when I was at Munich...
"The atmosphere [at Everton] completely surpassed what I thought, he said. "I guessed if we scored a few goals or were winning they'd be loud, but it was from minute one. They really push you on."
First of all: I'm really curious about his German experience. I still don't understand how it was so bad that he was completely turned off to the idea of playing soccer in Europe.
Second: How did he not know that English fans were this loyal and dedicated to their players? I've never been to a game in England, but I've been to one in Spain and seen a host of games on TV. Even I know that English soccer fans are insanely loyal to their team and that they cheer for their players all game long. Did he really not know this? Did he think that the crowds were the same as the MLS? Doesn't every casual fan of soccer know that the English crowds are this committed? Isn't that half the reason people want to become professional soccer players? To get paid millions, date supermodels and be literally worshiped by the fans?
Anyways, I may never quite understandLandon Donovan, but I am happy to see him playing extremely well and hope that he continues to play at such a high level during the World Cup.
As far as the other team on the field Saturday, Manchester City looked terrible. Everton was playing some of their best soccer of the season, but Man City looked lost for most of the game. It wasn't a good sign when Roque Santa Cruz went down with injury and is out for a month. Robinho came on as his replacement, but his performance was so uninspiring that Roberto Mancini (Man City's coach) subbed out Robinho before the end of the game. A team only gets three subs a game so it's rare that a coach will use a sub on a player that already subbed in. But considering Robinho was invisible for most of the game, bringing on any warm body was an upgrade. No need to worry about Man City though, they recently purchased Patrick Vieira. Despite being in his mid-30s and unable to crack the starting 11 on his previous team, he is the perfect powerhouse to fix Man City's offensive problems (I wish sarcasm was easier in writing).
Anyways, I know the second half of the season just started, but if Man City wants to finish in the top 4, they have to look a lot better than they did last weekend. They got blitzed and overwhelmed by Everton and never really threatened. There is still a lot of soccer yet to be played, but they are on the outside looking in right now and don't have too much room for error.
Landon Donovan has arrived in the English Premier League to play for Everton and is the American National of the week (we really need to get a better name for this award). The star of the US Men's National Team (USMNT) started his Everton career off with a nice assist on a corner kick. It seems that David Moyes, Everton's manager, has been watching the film on Donovan. He put him out on the right wing and had him run at Arsenal's defense. Donovan's speed gave the opposition trouble all night. It was an impressive debut for Donovan and after pointing out his missed penalty kick and calling for Clint Dempsey to be the next Captain of the USMNT (by the way, why didn't anyone argue for Tim Howard as the next captain?), all credit to Landon for impressing everyone on the night. A strong showing over the next three months will go a long way toward increasing his confidence as he plays for the USMNT at this summer's World Cup.
Clint Dempsey playing for his club team Fulham and a star of the US Men's National Team (USMNT) hit an amazing goal this week in Fulham's 3-2 loss to Stoke City. Fulham found themselves 3-0 down after only 36 minutes of play but clawed back two goals in the second half and looked poised to score more. In the 85th minute, Dempsey picked up the ball about 25 yards out, let it bounce once and then smacked the ball with his right foot. It sailed into the back of the net for a golazo. See it here.
Dempsey is well known by Americans but takes a backseat to Landon Donovan when it comes to the USMNT because of Donovan's scoring record and longevity playing for the US. Dempsey has gone to the best league in the world and turned into a key figure in Fulham's midfield, scoring 19 times in the past four seasons. He has played in 21 games this year and now has 6 goals. He handles pressure well and has matured greatly in England. Many talk of Donovan becoming the next USMNT captain, however, Dempsey is the man who has taken the bull by the horns in the world's biggest league and come away a starter. Clint Dempsey should be the next captain for the USMNT.
This week's salute (as though there have been previous salutes) was rather easy. Even if other Americans playing in the Premier League or anywhere else in Europe had done anything impressive, it would still have been tough to beat out this week's winner. So maybe it's good they didn't have any impact since they wouldn't want to have an impressive performance yet still not win this illustrious prize/recognition. Here are the three finalists, all happen to be goalies:
3rd place: Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton Wanderers. I didn't see this game so I'm not entirely sure of his overall impact. The Wolves won, but they beat Bolton. Not much of an accomplishment since Bolton is in second to last. But hey, a win's a win. Plus, he did play the entire 90 minutes and also received a yellow card late in the game. So at least he made the score sheet. A nice consolation.
2nd place: Brad Friedel - Aston Villa. Shutout victory is always commendable for a goalie. However it did come against Hull City, not exactly a tough foe.
The Winner: Tim Howard - Everton. Tim Howard was brilliant this weekend. Everton has had a disappointing season. They were hosting third place Tottenham Hotspurs who nursed a 2-0 lead late into the game. Everton clawed it's way back and scored in the 78th minute and then scored the equalizer eight minutes later in the 86th minute. The fans were going crazy. They had been greatly rewarded for coming out in the pouring rain and supporting their team. Then, in stoppage time, the referee rewards Tottenham with a penalty when an Everton player body checked a Spurs player in the box. Everton fans have had little to cheer about this year and finally when they seem to get a break, the ref gives Tottenham the late penalty. Talk about a heart breaker...good thing they had an American in goal. An no, it wasn't Stallone. Granted, the penalty by Defoe isn't the best I've ever seen. He clearly tries to go down the middle and if he gets the ball off the ground he probably scores. But he doesn't and Howard makes a brilliant save. It really is an impressive block. The fans go wild. Howard goes wild and practically breaks his hands punching the pole. Everton goes on to seal the tie and the dramatic comeback. The American saved the day. Doesn't always happen in the Premier League, so when it does, it's a no-brainer that Tim Howard gets our salute this week. Thanks for serving and making us proud.
