Tim Ream

[HatterDon]

played a blinder of a second half at LB for the USA against Peru tonight. He looked a bit off the pace in the first 15 minutes of the match, but got stronger as the game went on. He was VERY cool under pressure.

[Lighthouse]

A sort of Aaron Hughes type calmness about him. Pleased he is a Fulham player. As long as the Internationals don't throw us any more injury problems, looking forward to seeing our new defensive set up.

[cmg]

Blimey. This, along with the comments from Barry, Misfit and FF on the International thread, sounds very encouraging. Peru would be a decent test and to hear a full-back lauded for his defensive qualities would seem to fit in nicely with our requirements.
I notice he did play mostly at LB last term, but the fact that he is also at home at CB is another bonus.
As long as Klinsmann hasn't earmarked him for Borussia Dortmund we can maybe feel a bit more confident about our defence this season. 

[WolverineFFC]

Solid, but not spectacular. Exactly the performance I like to see out of a defender.

[HatterDon]

Solid, but not spectacular. Exactly the performance I like to see out of a defender.

Yeah, "spectacular defending" is only required when somebody isn't doing his job out there.

[MisfitKid]

played a blinder of a second half at LB for the USA against Peru tonight. He looked a bit off the pace in the first 15 minutes of the match, but got stronger as the game went on. He was VERY cool under pressure.

I thought the same... But what surprised me as the game went he was able to keep up with the fairly pacey wide players.  Also, he received a player rating of 8 out of 10 by the USMNT writers, which I thought was a fair rating.

[zschwartz]

bolton not known for their spectacular defense, but he did win player of the year a few times. moderate expectations!

[WolverineFFC]

Solid, but not spectacular. Exactly the performance I like to see out of a defender.

Yeah, "spectacular defending" is only required when somebody isn't doing his job out there.

Or if you don't read the play fast enough to be in position before something breaks down. The Aaron Hughes comparisons are a bit unfair, I don't know if Ream will ever be that level of player. He will provide the solid, but not "spectacular" defending Fulham have sorely missed since Aaron Hughes' prime.

[ToodlesMcToot]

For those that watched USA v Brazil last night, what did you think of Ream's performance in the 4-1 mauling?

The team performance was putrid, IMHO. However, looking at Ream specifically, I thought he performed pretty well considering. He was facing Willian with Fabinho overlapping. He got beat for pace often (expected) down the line but, most often was able to recover and put himself back into the play. His midfield partner, Gyasi Zardes, doesn't have the necessary defensive chops to pitch in very effectively against a team like Brazil as well. I thought he moved up the field well with the ball but, he was never much of a threat to do anything more than drive the ball across midfield and pass it. I don't believe that any of the goals were his responsibility.

Considering who he is as a player and the competition he was facing, I thought he performed quite well.

Klinsman absolutely does not put his players in great positions to succeed, quite often. The spine of his team is changed almost constantly. This was a night where his experimentations came back to bite pretty much everyone.

[BarryP]

I thought Ream had an OK night on an evening when everyone else around him was pretty atrocious. Passing was quality but the 1 v 1 defending, while not bad,  could have been better in spots.  Mind you it was Brazil and he was isolated at times but defenders are supposed to win their 1 v 1 situations.  Overall, he was  certainly the very best of a bad bunch with most off the blame not laying at his feet.

[love4ffc]

I would agree with others that Ream should have been played in the middle.  He was off his pace for sure last night and up against some strong competition.  He tried to keep Willian at bay and not allow him to get crosses in but was unable to on several times.  He does however read the game extremely well and stuck a foot in several times at just the right time.  Also his passing is top notch and several times he managed to get the ball in and out of some tight spots. 

He is not going to be a player that can play a wing back as he has a hard time getting back.  

[HatterDon]

He had a good match, and his pass set up Williams' goal. He's very cool there, but the defense would have been more solid if he and Cameron played CB rather than each playing FB. I think his two matches during this break did him a lot of good with JK, and showed Kit that he can definitely play across the back line. 

A couple of bits of perspective on the match:

1. It was the worst midfield display I've seen from the US in many many years. Only Yedlin showed any creativity and interest in attacking. Bradley was god awful for the whole bleedin' match. The result of which was that the defense was laid bare too many times, and our only striker got no service at all. Yedlin and Cameron worked very well together on the right wing, but nobody else in the midfield could deliver a decent pass.

2. Brazil could have beaten anyone last night. EVERYTHING they tried worked and, had they better finishing, they could have gotten into double figures.

3. This just in: Brazil is better than us at football. 

[SmithyFFC]

I'm aware that it is an unwritten rule on here that we have to humour US 'soccer,' but honestly, I reckon anybody posting on this board could do a half decent job at left back for American against Peru. Lets judge him in a Fulham shirt, shall we?

[HatterDon]

I'm aware that it is an unwritten rule on here that we have to humour US 'soccer,' but honestly, I reckon anybody posting on this board could do a half decent job at left back for American against Peru. Lets judge him in a Fulham shirt, shall we?

Peru finished 3rd in the Copa America. I don't fancy anyone on here being able to carry their water bucket. This thread is about a Fulham player. I'm sorry if you're offended that they hired another Yank to play on our team.

[WolverineFFC]

For those that watched USA v Brazil last night, what did you think of Ream's performance in the 4-1 mauling?

The team performance was putrid, IMHO. However, looking at Ream specifically, I thought he performed pretty well considering. He was facing Willian with Fabinho overlapping. He got beat for pace often (expected) down the line but, most often was able to recover and put himself back into the play. His midfield partner, Gyasi Zardes, doesn't have the necessary defensive chops to pitch in very effectively against a team like Brazil as well. I thought he moved up the field well with the ball but, he was never much of a threat to do anything more than drive the ball across midfield and pass it. I don't believe that any of the goals were his responsibility.

Considering who he is as a player and the competition he was facing, I thought he performed quite well.

Klinsman absolutely does not put his players in great positions to succeed, quite often. The spine of his team is changed almost constantly. This was a night where his experimentations came back to bite pretty much everyone.

He didn't embarass himself, which maybe could have only been said of Ream, Cameron, Guzan, and Yedlin. Considering he was up against a team full of players (individually and collectively) better than anyone he will come across in the Championship this season, I think it bodes well.

As an aside, I realized as I typed the above statement, the players I mentioned all have something in common. They ALL PLAY in ENGLAND!!! There is probably something to the idea that you prepare for world class players by competing against world class players.

[FortCollinsFulham]

I'm aware that it is an unwritten rule on here that we have to humour US 'soccer,' but honestly, I reckon anybody posting on this board could do a half decent job at left back for American against Peru. Lets judge him in a Fulham shirt, shall we?

Peru finished 3rd in the Copa America. I don't fancy anyone on here being able to carry their water bucket. This thread is about a Fulham player. I'm sorry if you're offended that they hired another Yank to play on our team.

:plus one:

[YankeeJim]

I'm aware that it is an unwritten rule on here that we have to humour US 'soccer,' but honestly, I reckon anybody posting on this board could do a half decent job at left back for American against Peru. Lets judge him in a Fulham shirt, shall we?

Peru finished 3rd in the Copa America. I don't fancy anyone on here being able to carry their water bucket. This thread is about a Fulham player. I'm sorry if you're offended that they hired another Yank to play on our team.

:plus on

Always has to be one,doesn't it?

[ToodlesMcToot]

I'm aware that it is an unwritten rule on here that we have to humour US 'soccer,' but honestly, I reckon anybody posting on this board could do a half decent job at left back for American against Peru. Lets judge him in a Fulham shirt, shall we?

Well, if that's the case, then anyone posting here should be able to skip on out to Motspur and cover left back in this league. So why don't you save the club the Husband and Garbutt loan fees and go tell Kit you're ready to play? See you on the field this weekend, then, right? Right?  :033: