On our US international Tim Ream, potential signing Lee Camp and we’re on the search for new writers
One player who has not been training with the first team squad during pre-season for non-injuries reasons is Tim Ream. He`s been with the USMNT (United States Mens` National Team)- imagine what it would be like is we went by the England Mens` National Team.
Ream was a virtual ever-present last season and managed to retain his ‘Player of the Season` award following consistent displays. His presence is one of assurance and experience which is particularly impressive, given that he hasn`t played that many games as a professional, having gone to college. According to Wikipedia he was classed as an ‘All-State, All-Conference and Class 2 Defensive Player`, a ‘Post-Dispatch All-Metro selection` and an ‘Archdiocesan Athletic Association Player` whatever that means?
Originally brought in to replace Gary Cahill, Ream did reasonably well, having to fill the shoes of one of the best players the club had seen in recent years. However, in all honesty, he wasn`t the right man to bring in to help stave off relegation.
He found his first season in the Championship very tough too, as he struggled with the physical aspect of the English game. As a result, many still argue that Ream is too slight for a centre back, calling for him to be deployed as a left back or holding midfielder. While centre backs don`t all have to be like Steve McNulty (if you don`t know him, look him up and no he`s not related to Phil), they need to be strongly built if lean. I think that the likes of Gary Cahill and Southampton`s Jose Fonte are the pinnacle of what one wants in a modern day centre back- good strength and height but still enough pace to get around the pitch.
I think that the reasons he`s gone on to become such a fans` favourite are as follows:
1)His attitude- his commitment and application is very good. He even postponed his honeymoon to sign and play for Bolton. He`s a real fighter and works very hard. We never hear of him getting up to anything bad which is also encouraging.
2) His composure- Tim Ream is very good on the ball; I`d be inclined to say that he`s one of the best ball playing defenders in the Championship. The games against Liverpool epitomised this for me. Although playing against the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Coutinho and Raheem Sterling, he kept a cool head and took his time on the ball, plying some wonderful passes.
3) His nationality- he`s American. Stuart Holden is American. Stuart Holden is good. Therefore, by definition, Tim Ream is good.
Ream has never really stood out for me, and I don`t think I`ve ever seen him put in a definitive man of the match performance. However, we rarely see poor performances from him. He`s our ‘Mr Dependable`, and having had two excellent seasons under his belt in a Wanderers shirt, I`d really love to see Tim push himself to his limits and make the step up to be a standout performer, week-in week-out. I know it`s hard, and I wouldn`t want to risk losing a consistence performer to a sporadic performer but having seen Ream play for years now I think he`s good enough to be one of the best defenders in the Championship.
I spoke to Rob Usry, Managing Editor of ’21 Peach Street` and contributor for Stars and Stripes- a USMNT Blog about how Ream has fared so far in the Gold Cup and his standing among the international ranks. He said the following:
`He’s only played in one match so far. He looked fine during that match and didn’t hurt his cause at all. It just seems that he’s always on the fringe and never really in Jurgen Klinsmann’s plan. His calmness on the ball is always a plus, but he seems to still have a tendency to get knocked off around by physical players. I don’t see him ever breaking out of the fringe player category for the USMNT.`
We`d all like to see Ream play on a more regular basis for his country as he must be better than the likes of Zak Whitbread and Oguchi Onyewu (do they still even play for America?). However, at the same time we certainly wouldn`t want to see him injured like Stuart Holden while on international duty.
In other news, it`s looking likely that the money gained from Robert Hall`s loan deal to MK Dons will be paving a way for Bournemouth ‘keeper Lee Camp on a free transfer or loan deal. I`m very happy with the sound of this as I think he`s good enough to be a first team player at this level.
We`re also still looking for writers. Vital Bolton is one of the most popular Bolton Wanderers sites in the world, with hundreds of thousands of hits every month, the site can provide a terrific platform if you`re looking to make it as a journalist and also has a terrific community of commenters. If interested on a full or part time basis, email bolton@vitalfootball.co.uk