Fulham drops Carlos Bocanegra

Fulham has reduced their American contingency by one as they dropped Carlos Bocanegra today. It is no big surprise that Bocanegra got the boot as manager Roy Hodgson had pretty much benched him for the last three months.

Bocanegra, who will likely be a starter for the US against England on Wednesday, is now looking for a new home. PSV Eindhoven has been mentioned as a possible landing spot. PSV was a good spot for DaMarcus Beasley as few years back and might be the change Bocanegra needs. If it works out, he might even get some Champions League action.

This move is a big one for Bocanegra as he needs to find playing time or else his spot on the national team will be less then assured.

Fulham also let go of Jari Litmanen, Philippe Christanval, Simon Elliott, Ian Pearce, Michael Timlin, Ismael Ehui, and Bjorn Runstrom. Looks like Eddie Johnson will get a little more time to make his mark.

Now the question is will Kasey Keller stick around?

Beasley out for months

US and Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley will miss months of play due to a knee injury he picked up in his clubs 3-2 Champions League defeat this past Tuesday. Beasley suffered the injury after colliding with the Stuttgart goalkeeper.

With surgery and a long lay off ahead of him, it is pretty safe to assume that he will not be wearing the US jersey anytime soon. This is a real shame as his move to Scotland has been a good for him. His touch on the ball and attacking style has improved after a less then grand time with Manchester City last season.

Let's hope for a fast recovery.

By the way, I had to fight the temptation to roll out the pun in the title on this one. I mean DaMarcus Beas-knee is just screaming to be heard.

Racist chants made against DaMarcus Beasley

In yet another disgusting display of human behavior at a soccer match, American midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and his teammate Jean-Claude Darcheville were the recipients of racist chants against them during their 1-0 win against FK Zeta. The so-called fans of the game made 'monkey chants' to taunt the two players.

"It happened to me a few years ago when PSV played Red Star in Belgrade, and I can't believe racist abuse is still in football," Beasley was quoted as saying on Rangers' Web site. "People can come to a match and jeer, but the racist thing just has to get out of football."
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"It sickens to hear these chants, but when you are on the pitch, you have to try to blank it out," Beasley was quoted as saying. "It degrades the game for everyone. I will discuss the situation with Rangers because I feel strongly about it, and we will decide if we should file a complaint.

Hopefully UEFA will investigate and if Zeta is found guilty, punish the club harshly.