Who are more American; Fulham or Aston Villa?
Prince v Michael Jackson, the Fulham v Villa celeb war
Fulham were once jokingly known as Fulham USA because of the American players at the Craven Cottage club. But Saturday’s opponents Aston Villa are not without their own American connection. So which side should Americans root for?
Fulham had two American strikers on their books in the 90s, Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey McBride played from 2004 – 2009, making 140 appearances and scoring 33 goals. Sounders FC’s Dempsey played from 2007-2012, playing 184 games and achieving a notable 50 goals.
In 2007, he was involved in an aerial collision with now Villa captain John Terry (then of Chelsea) during a West London derby at Stamford Bridge. Dempsey was accused of using an elbow but referee Martin Atkinson did not report the incident to the FA although Terry had to eventually leave the field because of it. Despite that, or more likely because of it, Dempsey is well remembered at Craven Cottage. The two goals he scored against Chelsea the next year doubtless help.
Nowadays, Fulham have defender Tim Ream once of the New York Red Bulls. He also enjoys scoring in West London derbies, scoring his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss against Queens Park Rangers on October 1, 2016. Californian midfielder Luca de la Torre has been on Fulham’s books since 2016 and has made five league appearances this year.
Clint Dempsey is still fondly remembered in Fulham
Six other Americans have played for the club, three of whom like Dempsey also have a Sounders connection; goalkeepers Marcus Hahnemann (1999-2002) and Kasey Keller (2007-2008), as well as forward Eddie Johnson (2008-2011). The others are Eddie Lewis (2000-2002), Carlos Bocanegra (2004-2008) and Emerson Hyndman (2011-2016).
Four high profile Americans have played for Villa; Michael Bradley (3 games on loan), Brad Guzan (144 appearances), Brad Friedel (114 games) and Eric Lichaj (32 games).
OWNERS
If Fulham have the advantage on the playing side, Villa had one of the English game’s most recognisable American owners, Randy Lerner. In August 2006, Lerner bought 59.69% of the club’s shares for about $95M (exchange rate of $1.43) and assumed responsibility for another $24M of debt. That purchase included the 39% stake of “Deadly” Doug Ellis, a name synonymous with the olden style authoritarian chairman that had bedeviled English football. Lerner quickly appointed himself Chairman of the Board of the club.
On September 19, Ellis and his board resigned, and were replaced by Lerner as chairman with General Charles C. Krulak, Bob Kain and Michael Martin serving as non-executive directors. At the close of the deal in 2006, Lerner became only the second American owner of a Premiership club.
Brad Friedel played 114 games for Villa
Photo; Kari Heistad
Unlike many a speculating foreigner, Lerner’s interest in Villa was partly emotional. During his time at Cambridge University, he had followed English football, taking an interest in three teams: Arsenal, (ironically) Fulham and Aston Villa. His interest in England’s top flight continued and ripened after he had returned to the States. At the time he bought Aston Villa, Lerner’s wealth was estimated to be $1.6 billion. He left in 2016.
Shahid Khan was unknown to the casual soccer fan in England until last month when news surfaced of an attempt to buy Wembley Stadium by the Fulham owner. Ranked as the 158th richest man in the world, American business insiders knew him better as he was on the front cover of Forbes magazine in 2012, Khan bought Fulham in July 2013 from Mohamed Al Fayed for an undisclosed price. In 2010, he had bought the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the NFL’s smaller market sides.
As of August 2017, Khan’s net worth is over $8.7 billion and he is ranked 70th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he moved to the United States in 1967 aged 16 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He now lives in Naples, Florida.
Prost Amerika will be at Wembley on Saturday and tweeting live. Please follow us here.
