Tag: england

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Clint Dempsey might have finally nailed down a starting role for Fulham. In his second straight start of the season he scored his second straight goal. With the Fulham down 2-0 late in the first half, Dempsey scored with a powerful header to set the Cottagers on the way to a 3-3 tie. Teammate Carlos Bocanegra contributed by denying Jermaine Jenas a chance before Dempsey’s strike. Keeper Kasey Keller, who debuted for Fulham last week, was on the bench because starter Antti Niemi was back from injury. Two other American keepers did see action.

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] American midfielder Bobby Convey played 100 minutes in Reading’s 1-0 overtime win over third-tier Swansea City in the second round of the English League Cup. Convey, who was injured most of last season, has come off the bench in two of four EPL games this season. His last start for Reading before knee-injury treatment came in an FA Cup last February.

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Clint Dempsey, after three appearances off the bench, got his first start of the season for Fulham and scored in the 6th minute in a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. Goalkeeper Kasey Keller, signed last week, also started, as did defender Carlos Bocanegra. Fulham’s fourth American, Brian McBride, is sidelined until December after undergoing surgery for a dislocated knee cap.

Fulham’s American striker Brian McBride, who started the season as captain of the English Premier League club, is expected to be sidelined for up two four months. McBride, who retired from the U.S. national team after the 2006 World Cup, suffered a dislocated knee cap after scoring for Fulham on Saturday and has undergone surgery.

Kasey Keller, who has had the longest stint in European leagues for an American player, has signed with English Premier League club Fulham. The 37-year-old Keller, a member of the USA’s 1990, 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cup squads, began his pro career with English second-tier club Millwall in 1991. He has played 364 league games in England for Millwall, Leicester, Tottenham and Southampton, had a two-year stint with Spanish La Liga club Rayo Vallecano, and spent the last two-and-half seasons German First Division club Borussia Moenchengladbach.

[MAKING A LIST] Manchester City, the English Premier leader and the only team with a perfect 3-0-0 record, includes players of 17 nationalities in its revamped squad.

[ENGLAND SCOREBOARD] Former English coach Sven-Goran Eriksson celebrated his straight third shutout as new coach of Manchester City in a 1-0 derby win over Manchester United. Last week, Eriksson lauded his Brazilian midfielder — “I never had a player like Elano with England.” On Sunday, Elano fed fellow Brazilian Geovanni, who scored the winner on a long-distance deflected shot for the win that means defending champion Manchester united has only two points from its first three games.

U.S. winger Eddie Lewis has left third-tier Leeds United for Derby County of the English Premier League, where he’ll join 22-year-old American midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who arrived in the offseason from Hamburg SV. Lewis has been playing in England since 2000, but made only one Premier League appearance, in 2002 with Fulham. The 33-year-old made 111 appearances for Preston Northend (2002-05) and 85 for Leeds (2005-07) in the League Championship (second tier).

[AMERICANS IN ENGLAND] Brian McBride, who entered the season as Fulham’s captain, scored for the Cottagers in the 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough and then collapsed to the ground with dislocated knee cap. “It was a freak injury to Brian, with minimal contact really,” said Fulham coach Lawrie Sanchez. The injury will sideline McBride for several months, according to the BBC. For more on Americans in England …

English Premier League club Fulham has named American Brian McBride as its captain for the 2007-08 season that starts on Sunday against London rival Arsenal.

Manchester United edged Chelsea, 3-0, on penalty kicks to win the annual English curtain-raiser, the Community Shield, on Sunday after their game at Wembley ended in a 1-1 draw.