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Tim Ream wasn't on the United States' initial roster for friendlies against Colombia and Ireland last week. In fact, there wasn't an announcement that he had joined the team -- doing so for an injured John Brooks -- until less than an hour before the Americans played Ireland.
It was a very late call, and Ream got very little time on the pitch. He didn't come on until the 87th minute, at which point the Americans were already 4-1 down.
Unsurprisingly, Bolton Wanderers manager Neil Lennon is upset about how the entire situation went down.
I am not happy at all. Thankfully he's back and fine now - it must have been a really exhausting minute of football with the team 4-1 down.
I want an explanation. They had two games (the US had played against Colombia at Fulham's Craven Cottage last Friday) and they should have called him in after that initial game.
And yet they call him in on the night before the game so he has to get flight on Tuesday morning to Dublin and then play one minute of an international.
People wonder why footballers don't want to play for their country any more? I am not saying that is the case with Tim. But when you see them being treated like that it makes me very angry.
There is a complete lack of respect for the player and a lack of respect for our club. I am still waiting on an explanation from someone. I have contacted the American FA and made my feelings pretty clear.
It's hard to disagree with Lennon here. Because Ream went to join the U.S., he missed two days of training with Bolton as they get ready to play Blackpool. And Lennon isn't saying that he doesn't want his players playing internationally -- just that they get a full camp and if they are called in at the last second, it not be for a few minutes in a friendly. That is entirely reasonable.
Making matters more interesting is that Jurgen Klinsmann bends over backward to help MLS clubs that don't respect international dates or don't want their players traveling too much. This despite his feud with the league, or whatever that nonsense is being called. He takes MLS clubs' concerns into account, but in this situation, he definitely did not take Bolton's.
Klinsmann hasn't made a habit of this so it is not as if he is out of control or being a jackass. It's even possible that he originally intended to play Ream more. Regardless, he probably owes Bolton and Lennon an apology. One for Ream, who is now in an awkward position, is probably deserved too.