No Tan but New Team!

No tan but new
Team!

Tim Ream, the man that chose Bolton’s grey skies and hotpot over the blue skies of Tahiti. The American international has been brought in to fill the void left by England international, Gary Cahill. A big task but one that this American was willing to take on, even cutting his honeymoon short. Ream grew up in St. Louis, Missouri which is a baseball town in the main. He was chosen 18^th Overall in the MLS Superdraft by the New York Red Bulls, where he was lucky enough to play with Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez. His displays for his new club earned him a call up to the US National team in 2010, playing his first match in a friendly against South Africa. Two years later, he has the opportunity to make his mark in one of the best leagues in the world, where football is king. I witnessed both his club and internationals debuts, keeping a close eye on the talented centre back. So here is my view on the new Bolton defender…

The lad has
teckers!

Living in the States, I have seen a lot of Tim Ream and my first impressions were great. The St. Louis born defender was composed on the ball, possessed decent pace, and had the body of a centre back. Yes, he made mistakes in his first season, but I put that down to him being young and inexperienced. It was a game this summer during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a competition that North American nations compete for every twoyears, where I started having doubts. Decision making is a huge part of a centre backs game, particularly because you are the last line of the defense and any mistake is usually punished. I began to see Ream become careless with the ball, leaving his man on set pieces, and making rash decisions around the box. If he was playing against Mexico, who has players like Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez, I could understand. However, the mistakes were against teams like Panama or South Africa who have strikers that would struggle to cope in the Blue Square Premier League. This form carried on into the 2011 MLS season provoking Red Bulls captain, Rafael Marquez to question his own team mate’s ability.  To the Bolton fans, you should know that he only made the MLS All-Star team thanks to New York’s big fan base and receiving a large number of votes. Along with Marquez, I believe Klinsmann has his doubts and that can only be worrying. Instead of playing against run of the mill MLS strikers, he will be facing the likes of Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, and Sergio Aguero. Exciting to say the least, but make a mistake and your dreams can turn to nightmares.  Errors against them could not only costhis team goals, but maybe the team’s Premier League status.

They will punish
you Tim!

Can he make it as a Premier League defender? With what I just said you’re probably thinking I am about to say no.  However, I actually believe the American can become a solid centre half in our league given time to learn and become accustomed to our style of football. I believe that Ream has had an easy ride up until now and would not have had too many headaches playing at youth level, or even during his spell at St. Louis University. Playing for teams that were better than most left him untested. Since I have lived over here, I have heard the saying “If it works why would I change it?” so many times.   A prime example is the new NFL sensation Tim Tebow. His throwing action as a quarterback was ugly and needed changing. At college it worked because the level is not as high as it is in the NFL. Same with Ream, he was playing well against below average talent and coaches saw no reason to improve his game. For this sole reason, I believe under the guidance of Owen Coyle and playing against the likes of Kevin Davies in training we will see massive improvements in is game. If you follow @DefDiscussions on Twitter, you will know that I do not rate Zat Knight. This being said, he has made 277 appearances in the Premier League. Ream should look at Knight and watch for defensive techniques, where he positions himself, or how he goes about preparing for games. The small details can make a huge difference if you are to succeed in the Premier League. If the American embraces this opportunity and learns from the experience, it can only be a good thing for his game, Bolton, and the US National team.