Clint Dempsey gives back to his Nacogdoches roots

US international Clint Dempsey, who is back home in Nacogdoches, Texas, played a friendly game of soccer at the Stephen F. Austin State University intramural field Wednesday.

This is a class move by Dempsey and a great way to help move soccer forward in the US. Nacodoches is a city of just 30,000 in East Texas, so Dempsey coming to play is big news.

Hopefully while in town, he can take it easy before he heads back to pre-season training with Fulham in July.

Carlos Bocanegra is off to France

US center back Carlos Bocanegra is no longer without a club as he has signed a three-year contract with French side Rennes. This move means Portsmouth defender Djimi Traore will not be part of the club next season.

Rennes are a good French side, but not one the of the best. They have made it to the UEFA Cup twice in the last 3 years, however both times they failed to get out of the group phase.

The good side of this is he will get a lot of playing time. The bad side, the French league doesn't have the same top-quality players as the EPL or the other top leagues in Europe.

Still, congratulations to Bocanegra and good luck learning French. By the way, Rennes is about 210 miles west of Paris.

Brian McBride coming home to MLS

Brian McBride has decided to leave England and return stateside. Fulham hoped McBride would stick around for another season, but he decided now was the best time. He made over 150 appearances for the Cottagers and netted 40 goals.

"After much consideration with my family, we have decided to leave Fulham after four and a half fantastic years," the 35-year-old forward said in a statement Wednesday on the club's Web site. "I have always stated my intention to return to America at some stage and this seems like the right moment in my career to move on."
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"I take great pride in the fact that my last appearance for Fulham saw the club maintain its Premier League status," McBride said. "I leave with some wonderful memories from my time at Fulham, and the club will always be in my heart."

As I said a couple weeks ago, I would have preferred he stay in England because he was a constant bright spot for American's aboard, however that is a very selfish reason. McBride is an outstanding player and a wonderful person who has more then earned all the praise that comes his way. His desire to return home to give his final quality years to his nation's league speaks volumes.

As far as his future home in the MLS, who knows where he might end up. Toronto has his rights, but Chicago is often mentioned as his landing spot (he grew up in the area). I'm sure ever Fire fan would love McBride teaming up with Blanco, but as a commenter said, 'in the grand scheme of what is right and wrong, his place is in Columbus.' It would be very strange to see him in MLS and not in a Crew uniform. Still, if he wants to play for his hometown club, I think even the hardest Crew supporter would understand.

So welcome home McBride, I, like thousands of other US soccer fans, look forward to watching you play.

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?

Should McBride stay in England or come home? - Poll

As one of, if not the most successful US field players ever in England, Brian McBride has been a solid source of pride for American fans, however those days might be about to come to an end. The soon to be 36 year old is weighing his options and might decide to leave the top-level English league in order to return to MLS.

McBride's contract with Fulham ends next month, meaning MLS would not have to pay a transfer fee, however the Cottagers have offered him a deal for the 2008-09 season. So what should McBride do?

This past season was a very difficult one due to injury, however it did end on a very positive note as he was a key part of Fulham's escape from relegation. His end of season form suggests that he still has the ability to play in the EPL, but if he did stick around, what would Fulham accomplish? Is it worth the pounding his body will take if they end up just fighting, yet again, to stay up? And even if things did go fantastic and they were able to win a spot in European competition, he probably would not be around for 09-10 to enjoy it, so why stay?

If he came back to the US, he would probably have two or three good years left in him that he could use to push the sport in loves in his home country and have a good chance, no matter where he lands, of winning a MLS Cup.

From my own standpoint, it would be great to see McBride stay in England because he is a constant high note for American players in Europe, but that is pretty selfish on my part.

So what do you think?

Clint Dempsey sticking with Fulham

US international Clint Dempsey has decided to stay with the Cottagers after signing a contract extension that will keep him in West London through 2010. It had been rumored that if Fulham failed to stay in the Premier League, Dempsey would move along to another top-flight club, but this move seems to kill such talk.

Fulham beat Birmingham City over the weekend to move out of the bottom three for the first time in months, however they are still dangerously close to the drop zone. Since Dempsey signed even though the team might get relegated seems to suggest that he enjoys the club and that they plan on making him a key part of their future plans.

If Fulham do stay up, I'm think the only American that will leave is Bocanegra. If they don't, I see Eddie Johnson and Dempsey sticking around and possibly McBride.

Returning from the great blog exile

After a bit of a surprise 3-week sabbatical from this blog, it is funny where life will take you, I'm happy to be back. So what did I miss?

From the limited number of MLS matches I've seen, it looks like I've been absent for the start of a really solid season. Refs are calling fewer fouls allowing the game to achieve a much better pace then in the past. Got to admit, I like this.

Seattle ended up keeping the Sounders name for the expansion team saying they had to listen to the fans. If only someone could have seen this coming.

The US women will join their male counterparts in Beijing for the Olympics after beating Costa Rica 3-0 in the semifinals to earn one of the two Concacaf spots. The fact that they then went on to beat Canada in a closely fought, meaningless first place match (you don't get to type that a lot) only adds to the fun of it all.

LA's defense is still good for a few laughs.

MLS teams repeated last year's results in the Concacaf Champions Cup as both Houston and DC exited the competition in the semifinal round. With this the final version of the CCC, let's hope for better results in the new Concacaf Champions League.

Real Salt Lake still has their curse over DC United in Utah. The last two years the defeat at Real came closer to mid-season and started a bit of a downturn for United. It will be interesting to see what comes of it this year.

Do you think Houston is second-guessing their Boswell for Wells trade at all? With Onstad out and Bobby not yet in the Dynamo groove, I'm guessing this isn't the start that Kinnear was hoping for. Then again, it is a long season and Dominic has worked wonders before.

Three games in and Kenny Cooper and Landon Donovan are creating and finishing chances at a very exciting clip while Blanco doesn't seem to be going to ground every time he touches the ball. If these things hold up, this season might just be one for the record books.

Beckham is actually playing so 2008 is already better then 2007.

Hugo Sanchez failed to live up to any of his promises and was unanimously kicked to the curb as coach of Mexico.

Overseas, it is wonderful to see Brian McBride back on the pitch and returning to full form. Too bad it is probably a bit too late for Fulham. On the plus side, can you say Olympic overage spot? McBride, Altidore and Adu with a bit of Sacha Kljestan on the side might just be the recipe for offensive success in China.

So there is three weeks in a nutshell. I have missed this.

Clint Dempsey wants 10 goals

Clint Dempsey had a three targets this season, "finish in the top 10, get 10 goals and five assists" but time has changed his focus.

"Right now we want to get out of the relegation battle, stay up and make things right for next season. The most important thing is that we stay up and if my personal targets are part of the reason for that then great, but staying up is all I want."

Dempsey still hopes to reach his 10 goal, 5-assist season, however he has a way to go. At 6 goals and 0 assists, I think it is safe to say that if he makes these targets, Fulham will not be relegated.

Eddie Johnson signs with Fulham

US international Eddie Johnson has been granted a work permit and has signed with Fulham of the EPL. Johnson's deal goes through the 2011 season.

The move to Fulham is not an unexpected one, but it does come at a difficult time for the club as they are in the relegation zone. But with the club lacking in strikers, the odds of Johnson earning a lot of minutes looks good. Overall, this is bound to be a huge test of his abilities. He will be out of his comfort zone and under pressure to perform immediately.

One of the tags Johnson has gathered over the last few MLS seasons is that of a lazy player, however that probably has more to do with his lack of constant challenges in the league then his skill. During the 2006 World Cup, he showed some real force on the ball during some of his limited minutes, but it was obvious he needed more training. With this move, he should get it.

Congratulations to Johnson.

PS - Will Johnson be this season's Dempsey and get the goal that keeps the team up? If so, I doubt it will be his first and only goal.

MLS looking at top European clubs for 2008 All-Star match

Rumors have it that MLS has their eyes on four teams for the 2008 All-Star match in Toronto. Those clubs, in no particular order, are Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Yes, the All-Star game is a bit of a joke based more on marketing then anything else, but if it has to be done (and it does), might as well get some top-level competition.

My favorite part of the article concerns the teams MLS has faced in recent years:

The MLS All-Star format typically pits the best of the North American league against a top European club. In the past three years, Chelsea and Fulham of the English Premier League and Celtic of the Scottish Premier League have appeared. Those recent participants pale in terms of quality and/or pedigree with any of the four now being considered.

Now my heart might not bleed Chelsea blue, but to say that they are not on the level with the four teams being considered for '08 is a little shy of the truth.

Anyway, as stated in an earlier post, I would guess Liverpool would be at the top of MLS's list, especially if the tails of George Gillett Jr. and a Montreal expansion team are true. However, I'd be willing to watch any of these four take on the best of North America.

Another way MLS and the EPL are different

As if there were not already enough ways that the two leagues are different, I've found another one. The EPL's Fulham wants to expand their stadium's capacity by 4,000 seats, but how do they plan on doing this?

"Fulham are proposing to increase capacity in the Riverside Stand by removing the executive boxes."

I had to read that line a few times to believe it. When was the last time any team in the US removed high-priced executive boxes in order to allow more seating for regular fans? I really don't know if I've ever heard of such a thing.

Okay, maybe this doesn't really apply to the MLS just yet as most teams are just trying to get stadiums of their own, but the idea floored me. All in all, it seems like an excellent way to go. Good for Fulham.

Kasey Keller to Fulham

America's former top keeper has landed were so many Americans have landed before. Kasey Keller joins three of his fellow countrymen at Fulham in the EPL.

Keller has been without a team since May when he left his German club Borussia Moenchengladbach. There had been talk of a possible MLS move but nothing ever materialized.

Fulham is in need of a quality keeper with starter Antti Niemi out with an injury.

Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez: "Obviously, with Antti being injured, it was important we added some strength and depth in that area - and Kasey is a proven professional with impeccable international credentials.

"It's vital we have cover in all areas throughout the squad, and I think he will be a valuable asset to us over the course of the season."

This signing marks a return to England for Keller who last played for Tottenham Hotspur in 2005.

Brian McBride is Fulham's captain

The most popular man at Fulham is now their captain. Former US international and all around fantastic person Brian McBride has been given the armband by manager Lawrie Sanchez.

McBride's task at hand is not an easy one as Fulham just missed relegation last year and is picked by many to fall this year. Fulham is a club with a number of new (or close to new) EPL players so leadership is much needed. McBride has been the leading scored for the Cottagers for the last two (or is it three) seasons, which should give him some additional respect from the newbies.

McBride joins Claudio Reyna as Americans who have been full time captains of an EPL side.

Clint Dempsey's biggest goal ever?

Fulham's fears of falling out of the Premiership might have all been erased thanks in huge part to the skill of American Clint Dempsey and his first ever Premiership goal.

The Cottagers needed a win to keep hope alive and even though Liverpool was playing their b-team, it was far from a sure thing. During the first half, Liverpool had the better of play, but once Dempsey was subbed in, the tide turned. Fulham was attacking and fellow American Brian McBride almost found net, but was denied. Dempsey would not have a similar problem.

(Goalkeeper Jose Reina) athletically punched clear Brian McBride's cross in the first half and after the break frustrated the American for a second time when he got to the ball before the Fulham striker.

But there was nothing Reina could do to stop Dempsey's shot.

The American started and finished the move, dissecting Liverpool's defense with a one-two with Liam Rosenior, before sweeping the ball past Reina.

Dempsey took the shot from the center of the penalty area and placed it perfectly in the lower left side of goal.

This win puts Fulham at 39 points, which just might be enough to keep them in the top league for another year. If Charlton Athletic fail to get a win Monday night against Tottenham, then Fulham are safe. Even if Charlton does get a win, Fulham will still be in a good spot as Athletic will face Liverpool in their final match. With Fulham currently up on goal difference, Charlton might need to beat Liverpool by two or more goals and have Fulham lose to Middlesbro'.