Yanks in Europe: Still No Rico

What George H. Cohen is to MLS labor negotiations, Yanks in Europe posts are to Saturdays (or something like that).  Enjoy:

In their first game without Landon Donovan since the beginning of the new year, Everton took on Bolton today, with Tim Howard getting the start in goal, as usual.  Bolton were without Stuart Holden, who is now cast-free and walking just a couple of weeks after breaking his leg on USMNT duty.  The Toffees' attack looked like it was clearly missing Donovan's presence throughout the opening 45 or so, but they eventually found a pair of second half goals en route to a 2-0 win.  Howard was solid in the clean sheet victory, controlling his box and making three saves along the way.

 Marcus Hahnemann also got the start for Wolves in their match with Aston Villa this morning.  His team was just minutes away from a fantastic upset win, but John Carew leveled the score in the 82nd minute to secure a 2-2 draw.  Hahnemann couldn't do a thing about either goal, making just one save on the day.  Worth mentioning is the play of Ashley Young, who is one of the favorites to replace David Beckham in the English squad after his Achilles injury.  With Fabio Capello in attendance, Young turned in a great performance, putting in a lot of quality service from the wing and causing problems for the Wolves defense.

A bright spot on the day was Jonathan Spector, who had a very nice showing in West Ham's 2-0 loss to Arsenal.  He played 90 minutes at RB, doing an admirable job keeping a couple of talented Gunners in check.  He made a couple of crucial blocks in the final third, and also added some nice service and supporting runs in the attack.  All in all, a good day for Spector against a tough opponent.

Spector's main competition for the starting RB spot with the USMNT, Steve Cherundolo, also earned some minutes today, coming on as a halftime substitute in Hannover's 2-0 loss to Stuttgart.  Stuttgart added a second goal just nine minutes after Cherundolo had come on, but he was not involved in the play.  He picked up a yellow card in the 58th minute for a bad tackle, with his side dropping into the relegation zone with the result.  They are in a particularly precarious position at this point, with a tougher schedule than 17th place Freiburg down the stretch. 

Last, but not least, Carlos Bocanegra went 90 minutes at LB for Stade Rennes in their 4-1 win over Toulouse.  He was not involved in the lone goal allowed, playing another solid game for Les Rouges et Noirs. 

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Injured/Did Not Play

It seemed as if everything was set up perfectly for Ricardo Clark to make his Bundesliga debut, with three Frankfurt midfielders unavailable due to cards.  Unfortunately, he once again did not get off the substitutes' bench in Frankfurt's 2-1 victory over the league leaders. 

Also of note, Jozy Altidore was not in the match day squad for Hull City.  It's being reported that he suffered a minor injury late in the week, so USMNT fans shouldn't panic quite yet about Hull's managerial change negatively affecting Jozy's minutes.

Ricardo Clark (unused substitute)
Brad Guzan (unused substitute)
Stuart Holden (broken leg)
Jozy Altidore (minor injury)
Frank Simek (unused substitute)
Charlie Davies (multiple injuries)

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