American internationals Oguchi Onyewu and DaMarcus Beasley were not offered contracts from their respective loan stints with Newcastle United and Manchester City. Onyewu was seen as strong, but oafy and technically challenged. Beasley was seen by City supporters as quick and skilled, but ultimately too fragile to withstand the rigours of the Premiership.

If you don’t know who they are – these Americans highlight the raw talent that the United States has to offer. PSV Eindhoven squeezed some effective football from the wiry Beasley in the form of four goals in 12 appearances on their way to a 2005 Champions League semi-final appearance. Overall, as his stay at PSV has drawn its last breath, Beasley hit for 10 goals in 56 appearances for the Dutch champions.

Onyewu plied his trade with Standard Liege in the Belgian Jupiler League and his skills put 'Gooch' on the transfer radars of Chelsea and Real Madrid, until transfer fee disparities left him in Liege. Ex-Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder pounced for a rest-of-the-season loan and won the big man’s services.

'England should wait for the throngs of American youngsters ready to commit their footballing lives to a career abroad'


It’s easy to dismiss Beasley and Onyewu as replaceable and interchangeable, but City supporters saw a moment of brilliance in the last flashes of the 2006-07 season. With Onyewu, Newcastle needed a big central defender and got one, although his performances were somewhat mediocre. Many have seen the effect that Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey, and Carlos Bocanegra have had on Fulham. McBride has twice been voted Fans' Player of the Year at Craven Cottage, Bocanegra a consistent and now versatile defender, and Dempsey supplied the goal that preserved Premiership status against Liverpool.

Full-back Frankie Simek has become a hot commodity for Sheffield Wednesday, drawing interest from Everton, who have keeper Tim Howard. At Reading, Marcus Hahnemann was the backbone of an excellent Premiership debut season, while Philadelphian Bobby Convey sat out the season at the club with injury problems.

Jonathan Spector helped a struggling West Ham stay up, while Brad Friedel, a Blackburn Rovers constant, helped his club to the FA Cup semi-final. And let's not forget that Jay Demerit, overlooked by the US team until the recent Gold Cup, had his moments in the Premiership spotlight as well with Aidy Boothroyd’s Watford.