Danny Williams

[Mr.Swainey]

I can't see why he would be an Anton signing, not a big name, not a russian connection, or family friend I doubt. So I think Nigel had a say in this

I spoke to Nigel, and he said Danny was his lover when he was out in Germany.

[Ian Royal]

Williams strikes me as fairly similar to Sidwell, but a little less hard. An all rounder. Decent going forward, passing, shooting, hassling and tackling. A bit weak on the ball sometimes.

As so often has been the case since the Sidwell and Harper partnership broke up, we seem to have two pieces of a midfield triumvirate that can't quite meld into a successful partnership. It's symptomatic of the problem we've had in the squad for the same length of time. We're still very much in Rodgers' transition. We keep trying to break away into a more dynamic passing side, but we can't quite make the leap and have half a squad set up ready to play a more traditional 4-4-2 and half a squad trying to move on to something different.

And the end result is bitty performances and mostly seasons of not quite getting there. Bar a few superb good runs under McDermott (generally when we rejected the move towards change and were more conservative - which can rarely perform long-term). None of which actually lasted much more than six months.

I like Williams. I'm not convinced by him. But he's got plenty about him and it can take a season or two for even a quality player to find their feet and the right partnership to thrive. He's certainly worth keeping around.

FWIW I always felt that Sidwell and Harper were two players that couldn't do it as a pair but only with a third player alongside them. Obviously, this was wrong in '05-'06 but it suggests something else changed that subtly changed how the two players functioned.

Williams? I think he looks potentially superb. A fair few injuries this season? Maybe to be expected.

Me too, there was a while when they appeared to be missing a Hughes shaped third partner. But they did it two seasons in a row in the end.

[stealthpapes]

I'd guess at better wingers and better strikers so they could concentrate on the grittier side of the game. But what do I know, I'm just a schmuck.

[Libertine]

I think Danny, and the midfield, will be key for us next season. A Karacan-Williams-Guthrie midfield would be very strong, if they can all stay healthy. The last part is key, I think each of them and the health issues would be the only thing that would mess things up. My only concern is at times this past season the Williams-Guthrie partnership was not very effective, or at least not effective as one would assume it should be. Maybe the introduction of Karacan into the mix might free up the other 2 to play better to their strengths. I am more concerned about Karacan. Will two major leg/knee injuries in three years diminish what he can do athletically and also raise the risk of future injuries? That is my big concern for Jem.

All that aside, and back to Williams, if everything progresses as we hope, and he fully can get over his own knee issues this summer, I think he can be huge for us the next few years. I was very impressed with him in what I am sure even he would described as a mixed year in terms of his performance (due to the injuries and the process of settling into the squad).

[floyd__streete]

Before you all wet your pants over Williams:

1) All very well him saying he's happy here, but lets just see if he's still at the club on September 1st, eh.
2) His fitness can most politely be described as questionable. He consistently failed to play two games in a week in the closing stages of the season. Fat use that is.

[Royal Ginger]

Before you all wet your pants over Williams:

1) All very well him saying he's happy here, but lets just see if he's still at the club on September 1st, eh.
2) His fitness can most politely be described as questionable. He consistently failed to play two games in a week in the closing stages of the season. Fat use that is.

Mostly agree, but if we'd not had the injury problems in midfield, and Hope Akpan wasn't so shockingly awful, the club probably wouldn't have pushed his knee and allowed him proper time to recover.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Before you all wet your pants over Williams:

1) All very well him saying he's happy here, but lets just see if he's still at the club on September 1st, eh.
2) His fitness can most politely be described as questionable. He consistently failed to play two games in a week in the closing stages of the season. Fat use that is.

Mostly agree, but if we'd not had the injury problems in midfield, and Hope Akpan wasn't so shockingly awful, the club probably wouldn't have pushed his knee and allowed him proper time to recover.

I'd go with this. He never really had much opportunity to get over his injury properly. Jury is out on whether he's a real sicknote.

[Libertine]

Well US Soccer has a press conference scheduled to happen in less than an hour to name our 30 man provisional squad. Opinion of the people who follow the US Men's National Team is that Williams will probably be named as one of the 30.

[ZacNaloen]

The manager is apparently a fan, but his knee has to put him in doubt for going. Bad year for it, but for his career and the next season he really needs the whole summer off to rehab.

[Libertine]

Yeah Klinsmann is definitely a fan. He was the one who convinced Danny to join the US team. I guess the question is the seriousness of the injury and whether it might be better rehab/strengthen it through training or if it is serious enough to warrant him to shut everything down for the Summer. It doesn't appear it was serious enough for Reading to shut him down for the season and I doubt they would have put his long term prospects in jeopardy by playing him if the injury was a serious one.

We'll find out soon enough. If he does make the provisional roster the next friendly for the US is the 27th of this month I believe.

[Mr.Swainey]

It would be a shame for him to miss out on a World Cup, he has certainly impressed this season and deserves the chance.

[Libertine]

Press conference begins in 10 minutes if anyone is interested in watching to see if Danny is named here is the link to it.

LINK REMOVED BECAUSE I GOT SWERVED...NO ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE SQUAD YET.

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

danny wasnt named in the squad. gutted for him as he is much higher quality than half the midfield that was named.

[PistolPete]

Disappointed for him, but selfishly -if he is here at the beginning of the season - he'll be better for a proper break and a full pre-season.

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

i dont know, i suppose it will be good for his leg to full heal, but i was really excited at the prospect of a reading player in the world cup. i guess we still have a shot with pog.

[Agent Balti]

Disappointed for him, but selfishly -if he is here at the beginning of the season - he'll be better for a proper break and a full pre-season.

Bittersweet for us and Danny. Maybe he just wouldn't be fit enough and Klinsmann couldn't take the risk. We need to build our midfield around Williams, in my opinion, so like you say Pete, we could benefit from that. Such a shame for him not to go to a World Cup though, shame.

[Ian Royal]

Sorry for him, happy for us.

[Royal Ginger]

He may well have pulled himself. Shame for him, but good for us trying to keep hold of him.

[Libertine]

Disappointed for him but I would think it had to be over the injury judging by some of the players who made the 30 man squad. Now he can concentrate on getting himself right for the upcoming season. There will always be 2018...