Americans Abroad: Weekend Review of US Stars in Action

Following a hectic transfer deadline day which involved moves for four American internationals, the rest of the U.S.’ top players headed back to work this weekend.

With the exception of those who just changed clubs, nearly all of the key USMNT players got into the action. Here’s how they did.

The Usual

Tim Howard started and played 90 minutes for Everton, losing 2-0 to West Bromwich Albion. There was nothing Howard could do on WBA’s first goal, but Howard definitely could have done better on their second.

In the 81st minute, Howard parried a blast over the crossbar, but then failed to deal with the ensuing corner service as WBA doubled their lead.

Jose Torres played 78 minutes in Pachuca’s 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul.

Clarence Goodson and Michael Parkhurst went head-to-head as Nordsjaelland and Brondby tied 0-0 in the Danish league.

Fabian Johnson and Danny Williams both played in Hoffenheim’s 4-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt with Johnson going the distance and Williams getting 45 minutes after coming in after halftime. Williams finished the game with a dismal 44 percent passing completion percentage.

Steve Cherundolo went the distance as Hannover beat Wolfsburg, 4-0.

Jozy Altidore played 90 minutes in Alkmaar’s 5-1 defeat at the hands of Eindhoven.

Joe Corona played 83 minutes as Tijuana beat Jaguares, 2-0.

Herculez Gomez went 51 minutes in Santos Laguna’s 2-1 loss to Pumas.

Settling in

Maurice Edu and Clint Dempsey both moved to new clubs on transfer deadline day, but neither played for their respective teams.

Dempsey did not dress for Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Norwich, while Edu made the bench for Stoke City in their 2-2 draw with Wigan, but did not get in the game.

Not as Good the Second Time Around

Geoff Cameron got his second start in a row for Stoke City, but was not as impressive as he was in his debut.

Cameron again started at center midfield, where he excelled last week. Cameron’s defensive prowess fits well into Stoke’s normal 4-4-2 system, where both central midfielders tend to stay home and protect the backline.

However, on Saturday, Stoke went down a goal inside of five minutes, and Stoke manager Tony Poulis panicked, switching to a three-back formation and pushing Geoff Cameron into an attacking midfield role.

Not unexpectedly, Cameron did not get involved in the game at all in that position. However, in the 36th minute, Stoke right back Andy Wilkinson came off injured and Stoke inserted new signing Charlie Adam into the game. Adam took up the attacking midfield role, and Cameron moved to the right-back position.

Cameron played the rest of the game as the right back, but was beaten on the dribble in the 49th minute, resulting in Wigan’s second goal of the game. To be fair, on the play, Cameron had made a long run all the way to the left side of the pitch on the play to cover for his teammates before being beaten.

Good News

Both Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj made the first XI for Aston Villa, and both went the distance as Villa earned its first point of the season. They drew 1-1 with Newcastle.

Guzan had a solid outing, playing strong off his line when needed and could do nothing on Newcastle’s goal, which was a beautiful blast from outside the box. Guzan saved the point for Villa in the 95th minute with a fantastic save to preserve the tie.

Lichaj had an OK game at left back. He battled well on the wing and had a game-high four interceptions, but also had a game-high four fouls. He was yellow-carded in the 90th minute and was lucky not to pick up the caution earlier in the game.

Lichaj also had two tackles in the box which may have gone for penalties on another day and was struggling to keep the game in front of him in the last minutes of the game.

Goals for

Both Jermaine Jones and Terrence Boyd picked up goals in weekend action, with Jones tallying in Schalke’s 3-1 win and Boyd scoring twice in Rapid Vienna’s 3-0 win.

Didn't Play

Michael Bradley picked up an injury in training and was not part of Roma’s 3-1 win over Inter.

Wished He Didn’t Play

Tim Ream endured what the Manchester Evening News called a “nightmarish” performance as Bolton lost again in the English Championship, this time 3-1 to Hull. Bolton now has four points from four games and sits 20th in the Championship standings.

On Thursday, it was reported that USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was going to name Ream to the roster for the U.S.’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers. However, when the roster was announced Sunday afternoon, Ream’s name was not on the list.

This led to wide speculation that Ream’s poor performance on Saturday had caused him to be dropped.

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